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Glossary Of Terms
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M l N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
The American Cybersquatting Protection Act. This act provides civil liability for the bad faith registration or use of a trademark or service mark of another as a domain name. It is aimed at remedying "cyber-squatting." President Clinton signed it into law on November 29, 1999.
American Registry for Internet Numbers. ARIN allocates and sells IP numbers in the Americas and Africa. ARIN sells numbers to APNIC for Asia, and to RIPE for Europe.
Back to TopSoftware that locates a set of Web site files on a server elsewhere on the Internet and "assembles" the text and images in those files according to directions also contained in those files, and makes your computer screen display a "page." The most commonly-used browser is Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Back to TopA part of the domain space associated with a certain country or region. A top-level domain containing a 2-character abbreviation as defined by ISO 3166-1 (Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries and Their Subdivisions). As of late 2004 there were nearly 250 country code top level domains (ccTLDs) registered. Some examples are .us for the United States, .ca for Canada, .jp for Japan, .de for Germany, etc. ccTLDs are often contrasted to generic top level domains (gTLDs). Approximately 86 of the 243 ccTLDs are open, or unrestricted; meaning that they do not have any local presence requirements in order to register a domain name, similar to gTLDs. However, many ccTLDs often are more restrictive, and may require proof of local incorporation and/or a local address.
A complete domain name records typically lists the Registrant, the Administrative Contact, the Technical Contact, the Billing Contact, along with their contact information. It also lists the Primary and Secondary host name servers and their IP addresses. Original registration and modification dates might also be listed.
The ICANN Domain Name Supporting Organization consists of a Names Council, several Constituencies and a General Assembly. Each Constituency is self-organized. The initial Constituencies consist of (in alphabetical order): 1. ccTLD registries; 2. commercial and business entities; 3. gTLD registries; 4. ISP and connectivity providers; 5. non-commercial domain name holders; 6. registrars; and 7. trademark, other intellectual property and anti-counterfeiting interests. Any group of individuals or entities may petition the ICANN Board for recognition as a new or separate Constituency. (Constituency website URLs can be found at http://www.icann.org/dnso/dnso.htm).
A type of contractual agreement often used by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) that facilitates cooperation between private organizations and the U.S. government for the purposes of encouraging development of new technology with the ultimate goal of turning that technology over to the private sector. Network Solutions (now VeriSign) entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation in 1993 to provide Internet domain name registration services. That agreement was transferred from NSF to the U.S. Department of Commerce and is still in force today.
Also ccTLD. (See above).
A practice where "individuals seek extortionate profits by reserving Internet domain names that are similar or identical to trademarked names with no intention of using the names in commerce themselves." H.R. Rep. No. 106-412, at 6 (1999).
Back to TopA collection of data organized into information that can be retrieved quickly and easily, like an electronic filing system. Databases are normally set up into tables that use unique identifiers. Registrar databases call these identifiers handles.
Assigned to a registry organization/administrator and activated on the Internet (released in the root zone). Of the 243 ccTLDs, 194 have been delegated; of these, 184 are active and 10 are closed. (as of April 2001.)
Domain Name System. The DNS allows people to use names (e.g., www.verisign.com) rather than IP addresses (such as 65.205.249.60) to find Web sites and send e-mail. When a user types www.verisign.com into a Web browser, for example, a behind-the-scenes process quickly translates the name into an IP address which is passed to the Web browser so that it can connect to the intended Web site. This process, called "resolution," relies on a global network of name servers operated by many different companies and organizations. The DNS comprises computers, data files, software, and people working together.
Domain Name Supporting Organization - A supporting organization of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). It advises the ICANN Board with respect to policy issues relating to the Domain Name System. The DNSO consists of: (i) a Names Council ("NC"), consisting of representatives of constituencies elected by those Constituencies and (ii) a General Assembly ("GA"), consisting of all interested individuals and entities.
United States Department of Commerce
An addressing construct used for identifying and locating computers on the Internet. Domain names provide a system of easy-to-remember Internet addresses, which can be translated by the Domain Name System (DNS) into the numeric addresses (Internet Protocol (IP) numbers) used by the network. A domain name is hierarchical and often conveys information about the type of entity using the domain name. A domain name is simply a label that represents a domain, which is a subset of the total domain name space. Domain names at the same level of the hierarchy must be unique. Thus, for example, there can be only one .COM at the top-level of the hierarchy, and only one verisign.com at the next level of the hierarchy.
A distributed database of information that is used to translate domain names (which are easy for humans to remember and use) into Internet Protocol (IP) numbers, which are what computers need to find each other on the Internet. People working on computers around the globe maintain their specific portion of this database, and the data held in each portion of the database is made available to all computers and users on the Internet. The DNS comprises computers, data files, software, and people working together.
Drafting committees are bodies of Domain Name Supporting Organization General Assembly members that are established by the DNSO Names Council to carry out its consensus building responsibility. Each recognized DNSO Constituency may participate in any drafting committee.
Back to TopThe General Assembly (GA) is an open forum for participation in the work of the ICANN Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO). The participants in the GA should be individuals who have a knowledge of and an interest in issues pertaining to the areas for which the DNSO has primary responsibility, and who are willing to contribute time, effort and expertise to the work of the DNSO, including work item proposal and development, discussion of work items, draft document preparation, and participation in research and drafting committees and working groups.
A top-level domain name that is open to registrants around the world in contrast to country code top level domains that are often restricted to registrants located in a particular country or region. gTLDs include .com, .net, .biz, .info, .name and .org.
Generic top-level domain. See above.
Back to TopAlso called a name server. A computer that has both the software and the data (zone files) needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers.
Back to TopInternet Assigned Numbers Authority (See http://www.iana.org/)
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (See: http://www.icann.org/)
An agreement executed on November 10, 1999 between ICANN and VeriSign. The agreement contains the terms and conditions under which VeriSign is authorized to be the exclusive registry for all second-level domain names in the .com and .net top level domain names.
Internet Engineering Task Force (See http://www.ietf.org/)
International Forum on the White Paper (See http://www.ifwp.org/)
The function that currently oversees registration for various Internet Protocol parameters, such as port numbers, protocol and enterprise numbers, options, codes, and types. The IANA function is located at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California in Marina del Rey, CA and functions under the direction of ICANN. (See http://www.iana.org/)
An international not-for-profit, private sector organization created to coordinate four key functions for the Internet: the management of the domain name system, the allocation of IP address space, the assignment of protocol parameters, and the management of the root server system. (See: http://www.icann.org/)
An addressing construct used for identifying and locating computers on the Internet. Domain names provide a system of easy-to-remember Internet addresses, which can be translated by the Domain Name System (DNS) into the numeric addresses (Internet Protocol (IP) numbers) used by the network. A domain name is hierarchical and often conveys information about the type of entity using the domain name. A domain name is simply a label that represents a domain, which is a subset of the total domain name space. Domain names at the same level of the hierarchy must be unique. Thus, for example, there can be only one .COM at the top-level of the hierarchy, and only one verisign.com at the next level of the hierarchy.
An international, voluntary body consisting of network designers, engineers, researchers, vendors, and other interested individuals who work together to address and resolve technical and operational problems on the Internet and develop Internet standards and protocols. The IETF, which was formed by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), meets three times a year, however the bulk of the collaboration and work takes place on the various mailing lists maintained by its participants. (See http://www.ietf.org/)
A unique, numeric identifier used to specify hosts and networks. Internet Protocol (IP) numbers are part of a global, standardized scheme for identifying machines that are connected to the Internet. Technically speaking, IP numbers are 32 bit addresses that consist of four octets, and they are expressed as four numbers between 0 and 255, separated by periods, for example: 198.41.0.52. IP allocation for the Americas, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa is currently handled by the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). IP allocation for Europe is currently handled by RIPE (Reseaux IP Europeens). IP allocation for the Asia/Pacific region is currently handled by the Asia-Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC).
Internet Network Information Center. InterNIC is a registered service mark of the U.S. Department of Commerce. InterNIC was the name given to a project that originated in 1993 under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) enabling VeriSign to provide domain name registration services in .com and .net. The InterNIC is currently the name of a web site provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce (see http://www.interNIC.net/).
InterNIC is a registered service mark of the U.S. Department of Commerce. This site is now being hosted by the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers on behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce. This Web site was established to provide the public information regarding Internet domain name registration services. (See http://www.interNIC.net/)
Internet Protocol
See Internet Protocol Number.
Internet Service Provider. Any company that provides access to the Internet for individuals and/or companies, through telecommunication lines and other equipment. Users call the ISP via a modem or a network phone. ISPs can also provide server space for registrant Web site files and may offer Web site design services.
Back to TopListing a host (name server) that does not contain a Start of Authority (SOA) record for a domain name when registering a domain name with a registry or registrar.
Back to TopAlso called a host. A computer that has both the software and the data (zone files) needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers.
Providing individuals or organizations with domain name-to-Internet Protocol (IP) number resolution by maintaining and making available the hardware, software, and data needed to perform this function. Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operate name servers and provide their customers with name service when they register a domain name. Most individuals are not in a position to operate a name server on their own and will need to make arrangements for name service with an ISP or some other person or organization.
The Names Council (NC) is a part of the Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO), one of three supporting organizations for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It consists of three representatives from each DNSO constituency recognized by the ICANN Board, with the temporary exception of the gTLD Registry Constituency that currently has only one representative. The NC is responsible for the management of the consensus building process of the DNSO.
An agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Executive Branch's principal voice on domestic and international telecommunications and information technology issues. NTIA is the agency within DoC that manages the cooperative agreement with VeriSign and the Memorandum of Understanding with ICANN. (See http://www.ntia.doc.gov/)
Unique identifiers for the three types of contacts associated with a domain name record. These contacts are generally known as the Administrative, Billing and Technical Contacts. For example, the Administrative Contact for myname.com might be John Doe. John Doe's NIC Contact handle could be RFD306. When registering additional domain names, John Doe could type in his NIC handle instead of having to retype all of his contact information over again. This also eliminates confusion when searching database records, in the event that two or more John Does exist. The person ordering the search would search by NIC contact handle in order to find all domain names associated with that unique identifier.
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (See http://www.ntia.doc.gov/)
Back to TopA process in which registrars licensed by the VeriSign Registry develop client systems and software to register and manage domain names and name servers prior to live operation in the Shared Registration System. The Shared Registration System includes an isolated, shared Operational Test and Evaluation server environment that is used for both initial registrar system development and ongoing registrar development and testing. Prior to operation in the live Shared Registration System, registrars must complete a basic functional evaluation in the Operational Test and Evaluation environment to demonstrate full and correct operation of their client systems. The evaluation must be completed without error before registrars are given access to the live Shared Registration System.
Operational Test and Evaluation
Back to TopThe name server that will be used first and will be relied upon before any of the other name servers that may be listed when a domain name is registered with the registry. When registering names with the VeriSign Registry, registrars must provide the name and IP address of a primary server for the name.
Back to TopThe individual or organization that registers a specific domain name with a registrar. This individual or organization holds the right to use that specific domain name for a specified period of time, provided certain conditions are met and the registration fees are paid. This person or organization is the "legal entity" bound by the terms of the Domain Name Registration Agreement with the registrar. Note that the VeriSign Registry provides direct services to registrars only, not Internet end-users. The registry database contains only domain name service (DNS) information (domain name, name server names and name server Internet Protocol [IP] numbers) along with the name of the registrar that registered the name and basic transaction data. It does not contain any domain name registrant or contact information. Registrars provide direct services to registrants.
A registrar provides direct services to domain name registrants. The registrar database contains customer information in addition to the DNS information contained in the Registry database. Registrars process name registrations for Internet end-users and then send the necessary DNS information to a Registry for entry into the centralized Registry database and ultimate propagation over the Internet. There are multiple registrars providing registration services through the VeriSign Registry. (See http://www.interNIC.net/)
This is a contract that registrars must enter into with the VeriSign Global Registry Services in order to be able to provide registration services through the VeriSign Global Registry. (See http://www.icann.org/nsi/nsi-agreements.htm)
A searchable database maintained by registrars that contains information about networks, networking organizations, domain names, and the contacts associated with them for the com, org, net, edu, and ISO 3166 ccTLDs. Also, the protocol, or set of rules, that describes the application used to access the database. Each registrar implements the Whois protocol and maintains a separate and distinct Whois database for its respective domain name registrations.
An Internet domain name registry is an entity that receives domain name service (DNS) information from domain name registrars, inserts that information into a centralized database and propagates the information in Internet zone files on the Internet so that domain names can be found by users around the world via applications such as the world wide web and email. VeriSign is the exclusive registry for the .com and .net top level domains.
An agreement executed on November 10, 1999 between ICANN and VeriSign. The agreement contains the terms and conditions under which VeriSign is authorized to be the exclusive registry for all second-level domain names in the .com and .net top level domain names.
A protocol for the registration and management of second level domain names and associated name servers in both Top Level Domains (TLDs) and country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs). This protocol was developed by the Network Solutions Registry (now VeriSign Registry). RRP is a TCP-based, 7-bit US-ASCII text protocol that permits multiple registrars to provide second level Internet domain name registration services in the top level domains (TLDs) administered by a TLD registry.
This is the authoritative Whois service for all second-level Internet domain names registered in the .com and .net top-level domains. This service is available to anyone. For all registered second-level domain names in .com and .net, information as illustrated in the following example is displayed:
Domain Name: RareDomainsForSale.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
Name Server: NS33.WORLDNIC.COM
No end-user contact information is displayed because VeriSign does not maintain that information.
Translating a textual domain name into a numeric IP Address. A browser will translate a domain name into its IP Address, a number designating the server where the files for the domain name are kept.
A country-code top-level domain that requires a local mailing address and/or proof of local incorporation in order to register a desired domain name. There may also be restrictions on how many domain name registrations are allowed per person or organization. Some ccTLDs may request additional documentation.
The top of the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy. Often referred to as the "dot."
A machine that has the software and data needed to locate name servers that contain authoritative data for the top-level domains (e.g., root servers know which name servers contain authoritative data for com, net, fr, uk. etc.). The root servers are, in fact, name servers and contain authoritative data for the very top of the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy. Currently, technical specifications limit the number of root servers to 13. These machines are currently located around the globe, in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, and Japan.
Registry Registrar Protocol
The term used to describe the process by which domain names are matched with corresponding Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. "Resolution" is accomplished by a combination of computers and software, referred to as name servers that use the data in the Domain Name System to determine which IP numbers correspond to a particular domain name.
Back to TopA name server that will be used in addition to and as a backup for the primary name server for a domain name. Names and IP addresses of secondary servers are provided by registrars when they register names with the VeriSign Registry.
In the Domain Name System (DNS), the next lower level of the hierarchy underneath the top-level domains. In a domain name, that portion of the domain name that appears immediately to the left of the top-level domain. Second level domain names are often descriptive and have come to be used increasingly to represent businesses and other commercial concerns on the Internet.
A country-code top-level domain that has many requirements for registration. Requirements may include a local mailing address for the Registrant and/or Administrative Contact; proof of local incorporation or other documentation. Most also limit the number of registrations an organization or individuals can request.
A computer that holds data, files or programs so that multiple users can have access to them. A server can provide a link to a shared resource such as printer.
The Shared Registration System developed by the VeriSign Registry permits multiple registrars to provide Internet domain name registration services within the top-level domains (TLDs) administered by VeriSign. The System (a protocol and associated hardware and software) includes the following subsystems: a database server subsystem, a registration subsystem ensuring equivalent access to the registry by all registrars; a billing subsystem; a systems development and testing subsystem; a TLD zone file generation subsystem; and a Whois subsystem. The System is consistent with, and supportive of, the provisions of the Statement of Policy on Domain Name System administration, Management of Internet Names and Addresses, 63 Fed Reg. 31741 (1998) (the "White Paper"), as well as Amendment No. 11 to Cooperative Agreement NCR-92-18742 between the U.S. Government and VeriSign.
Start of Authority
Shared Registration System
SSL is an acronym for "Secure Socket Layer," a security protocol that provides communications privacy over the Internet. The protocol allows client/server applications to communicate in a way that is designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, or message forgery.
A type of record used in the distributed database that is the Domain Name System (DNS) to indicate that a particular name server contains authoritative data for a particular domain.
The ICANN Supporting Organizations serve as advisory bodies to the Board, with a primary responsibility of developing and recommending substantive policies regarding those matters falling within their specific responsibilities.
Back to TopTop Level Domain
A file that contains data describing a portion of the domain name space for a specific top-level domain. Zone files contain the information needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. Zone files contain domain names, their associated name server names and the IP addresses for those name servers.
Files that contain data describing a portion of the domain name space for specific top level domains. Zone files contain the information needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. Zone files contain domain names, their associated name server names and the IP addresses for those name servers. VeriSign updates TLD zone files for the .com and .net TLDs every five minutes.
In the Domain Name System (DNS), the highest level of the hierarchy after the root. In a domain name, that portion of the domain name that appears furthest to the right. For example, the net in nsiregistry.net
Back to TopUniform Domain Name Dispute Policy. Adopted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"), is incorporated by reference into all gTLD Registration Agreements, and sets forth the terms and conditions in connection with a dispute between the Registrant and any party other than the Registrar over the registration and use of an Internet domain name registered by the Registrant. Disputes are processed through ICANN-approved arbitration organizations and panelists. This Policy is often considered to be a relatively inexpensive method to resolve a gTLD domain name dispute.
A country-code top-level domain where no local presence is required in order to register a domain name. Anyone, from anywhere, may register, similar to gTLDs. Almost all have no limit on the number of names a company can register. Unrestricted countries are generally considered "high-risk" countries by many trademark holders and rank as the highest priority for registration. Many companies register to protect themselves from cyber-squatters and to maximize traffic to their Web sites.
Offered by VeriSign® Online Brand Protection Services, a bundled registration and maintenance service, incorporating a flat fee to register one or more names in all available unrestricted country-code domains. Net-savvy companies are registering in these unrestricted ccTLDs in order to protect, extend and reinforce their brands. They want first crack in Internet markets where the local population may be typing in local domain name addresses when looking for information or to buy. They want all to cover all possible bases in the quest to maximize traffic to their .com and local Web sites. Contact your Account Manager for details.
Back to TopA searchable database maintained by registries and registrars that contains information about domain name registrations in the com, net, org, edu, and ISO 3166 country code top-level domains. Also, the protocol, or set of rules, that describes the application used to access the database.
The URL (web address) where the Whois service for a particular registry or registrar may be found. This is one of the items of information provided by the VeriSign Global Registry Whois.
Working Groups are bodies of Domain Name Supporting Organization General Assembly members that are established by the DNSO Names Council to carry out its consensus building responsibility. Each recognized DNSO Constituency may participate in any working group.
Back to TopAn agreement with the VeriSign Registry that must be executed by parties requesting access to the VeriSign Global Registry TLD zone files.
Files that contain data describing a portion of the domain name space for specific top level domains. Zone files contain the information needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. Zone files contain domain names, their associated name server names and the IP addresses for those name servers. VeriSign updates zone files for the .com, .net and .org TLDs every five minutes.
Back to TopSearch Engine Optimization (SEO) has become an essential weapon in the arsenal of every online business. Unfortunately, for most business owners and marketing managers (and even many webmasters), it’s also somewhat of an enigma. This is partly due to the fact that it’s such a new and rapidly changing field, and partly due to the fact that SEO practitioners tend to speak in a language all of their own which, without translation, is virtually impenetrable to the layperson. This glossary seeks to remedy that situation, explaining specialist SEO terms in plain English…
AdWords
See Sponsored Links.
algorithm
A complex mathematical formula used by search engines to assess the relevance and importance of websites and rank them accordingly in their search results. These algorithms are kept tightly under wraps as they are the key to the objectivity of search engines (i.e. the algorithm ensures relevant results, and relevant results bring more users, which in turn brings more advertising revenue).
The submitting of free reprint articles to many article submission sites and article distribution lists in order to increase your website’s search engine ranking and Google PageRank. (In this sense, the “PR” stands for PageRank.) Like traditional public relations, article PR also conveys a sense of authority because your articles are widely published. And because you’re proving your expertise and freely dispensing knowledge, your readers will trust you and will be more likely to remain loyal to you. (In this sense, the “PR” stands for Public Relations.)
article submission sites
Websites which act as repositories of free reprint articles. They are sites where authors can submit their articles free of charge, and where webmasters can find articles to use on their websites free of charge. Article submission sites generate revenue by selling advertising space on their websites. See also article PR.
backlink
A text link to your website from another website. See also link.
The words used on your website.
copywriter
A professional writer who specializes in the writing of advertising copy (compelling, engaging words promoting a particular product or service). See also SEO copywriter and web copywriter.
crawl
Google finds pages on the World Wide Web and records their details in its index by sending out ˜spiders or ˜robots. These spiders make their way from page to page and site to site by following text links. To a spider, a text link is like a door.
domain name
The virtual address of your website (normally in the form www.yourbusinessname.com). This is what people will type when they want to visit your site. It is also what you will use as the address in any text links back to your site.
ezine
An electronic magazine. Most publishers of ezines are desperate for content and gladly publish well written, helpful articles and give you full credit as author, including a link to your website.
Flash
A technology used to create animated web pages (and page elements).
free reprint article
An article written by you and made freely available to other webmasters to publish on their websites. See also article PR.
The search engine with the greatest coverage of the World Wide Web, and which is responsible for most search engine-referred traffic. Of approximately 11.5 billion pages on the World Wide Web, it is estimated that Google has indexed around 8.8 billion. This is one reason why it takes so long to increase your ranking!
Google AdWords
See Sponsored Links.
How Google scores a websiteimportance. It gives all sites a mark out of 10. By downloading the Google Toolbar, you can view the PR of any site you visit.
Google Toolbar
A free tool you can download. It becomes part of your browser toolbar. Itmost useful features are itPageRank display (which allows you to view the PR of any site you visit) and itAutoFill function (when youre filling out an online form, you can click AutoFill, and it enters all the standard information automatically, including Name, Address, Zip code/Postcode, Phone Number, Email Address, Business Name, Credit Card Number (password protected), etc.) Once youve downloaded and installed the toolbar, you may need to set up how youd like it to look and work by clicking Options (setup is very easy). NOTE: Google does record some information (mostly regarding sites visited).
HTML
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the coding language used to create much of the information on the World Wide Web. Web browsers read the HTML code and display the page that code describes.
Internet
An interconnected network of computers around the world.
JavaScript
A programming language used to create dynamic website pages (e.g. interactivity).
keyword
A word which your customers search for and which you use frequently on your site in order to be relevant to those searches. This use known as targeting a keyword. Most websites actually target ˜keyword phrases because single keywords are too generic and it is very difficult to rank highly for them.
keyword density
A measure of the frequency of your keyword in relation to the total wordcount of the page. So if your page has 200 words, and your keyword phrase appears 10 times, its density is 5%.
keyword phrase
A phrase which your customers search for and which you use frequently on your site in order to be relevant to those searches.
A word or image on a web page which the reader can click to visit another page. There are normally visual cues to indicate to the reader that the word or image is a link.
link path
Using text links to connect a series of page (i.e. page 1 connects to page 2, page 2 connects to page 3, page 3 connects to page 4, and so on). Search engine ˜spiders and ˜robots use text links to jump from page to page as they gather information about it, so ita good idea to allow them traverse your entire site via text links.
link partner
A webmaster who is willing to put a link to your website on their website. Quite often link partners engage in reciprocal linking.
link popularity
The number of links to your website. Link popularity is the single most important factor in a high search engine ranking. Webmasters use a number of methods to increase their site’s link popularity including article PR, link exchange (link partners / reciprocal linking), link buying, and link directories.
link text
The part of a text link that is visible to the reader. When generating links to your own site, they are most effective (in terms of ranking) if they include your keyword.
meta tag
A short note within the header of the HTML of your web page which describes some aspect of that page. These meta tags are read by the search engines and used to help assess the relevance of a site to a particular search.
The ˜real search results. The results that most users are looking for and which take up most of the window. For most searches, the search engine displays a long list of links to sites with content which is related to the word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how relevant and important they are.
organic search results
PPC (Pay-Per-Click advertising)
See Sponsored Links.
PageRank
See Google PageRank.
rank
Your position in the search results that display when someone searches for a particular word at a search engine.
reciprocal link
A mutual agreement between two webmasters to exchange links (i.e. they both add a link to the otherwebsite on their own website). Most search engines (certainly Google) are sophisticated enough to detect reciprocal linking and they dont view it very favorably because it is clearly a manufactured method of generating links. Websites with reciprocal links risk being penalized.
robot
See spider.
robots.txt file
A file which is used to inform the search engine spider which pages on a site should not be indexed. This file sits in your siteroot directory on the web server. (Alternatively, you can do a similar thing by placing tags in the header section of your HTML for search engine robots/spiders to read.
Sandbox
Many SEO experts believe that Google ˜sandboxes new websites. Whenever it detects a new website, it withholds its rightful ranking for a period while it determines whether your site is a genuine, credible, long term site. It does this to discourage the creation of SPAM websites (sites which serve no useful purpose other than to boost the ranking of some other site). Likewise, if Google detects a sudden increase (i.e. many hundreds or thousands) in the number of links back to your site, it may sandbox them for a period (or in fact penalize you by lowering your ranking or blacklisting your site altogether).
SEO
Search Engine Optimization. The art of making your website relevant and important so that it ranks high in the search results for a particular word.
A ˜copywriter who is not only proficient at web copy, but also experienced in writing copy which is optimized for search engines (and will therefore help you achieve a better search engine ranking for your website).
search engine
A search engine is an online tool which allows you to search for websites which contain a particular word or phrase. The most well known search engines are Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
site map
A single page which contains a list of text links to every page in the site (and every page contains a text link back to the site map). Think of your site map as being at the center of a spider-web.
SPAM
Generally refers to unwanted and unrequested email sent en-masse to private email addresses. Also used to refer to websites which appear high in search results without having any useful content. The creators of these sites set them up simply to cash in on their high ranking by selling advertising space, links to other sites, or by linking to other sites of their own and thereby increasing the ranking of those sites. The search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and already have very efficient ways to detect SPAM websites and penalize them.
Google finds pages on the World Wide Web and records their details in its index by sending out ˜spiders or ˜robots. These spiders make their way from page to page and site to site by following text links.
Paid advertising which displays next to the natural search results. Customers can click on the ad to visit the advertiserwebsite. This is how the search engines make their money. Advertisers set their ads up to display whenever someone searches for a word which is related to their product or service. These ads look similar to the natural search results, but are normally labeled Sponsored Links, and normally take up a smaller portion of the window. These ads work on a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) basis (i.e. the advertiser only pays when someone clicks on their ad).
submit
You can submit your domain name to the search engines so that their ˜spiders or ˜robots will crawl your site. You can also submit articles to ˜article submission sites in order to have them published on the Internet.
text link
A word on a web page which the reader can click to visit another page. Text links are normally blue and underlined. Text links are what ˜spiders or ˜robots use to jump from page to page and website to website.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a particular page published on the Internet. Normally in the form http://www.yourbusinessname.com/AWebPage.htm.
web copy
See copy.
A ˜copywriter who understands the unique requirements of writing for an online medium.
webmaster
A person responsible for the management of a particular website.
wordcount
The number of words on a particular web page.
World Wide Web (WWW)
The vast array of documents published on the Internet. It is estimated that the World Wide Web now consists of approximately 11.5 billion pages.
Adware means “Advertising Supported Software”. It refers to placing adverts in software or distributing them along side a software download.
Bots are software applications that run automated tasks over the internet. Bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive,
at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human editor alone.
Cross-site scripting This is a method of placing malicious scripts on websites that are then “executed” inside the web browser of the person viewing the website. These scripts can be dangerous at times.
DDos stands for Distributed Denial of Service. A DDoS attack attempts to consume the target resources so that it can not provide the service. In plain English this means a website can be brought down by aiming 1,000’s of page requests a minute until the website can no longer cope and fails!
A drive-by download is a program that is involuntarily downloaded to your computer, without your permission or even your awareness. A drive-by download can be commenced by simply visiting a Web site or viewing an HTML e-mail message.
Exploit This is name given to any process that seeks to take advantage of a code vulnerability, usually in a web browser such as Internet Explorer or FireFox.
Firewall In its simplest form it is a software security mechanism that prevents unwanted/unauthorized internet traffic from entering your computer. A firewall can also block software on your computer from sending out data as well. Having a software firewall on your computer is ESSENTIAL if you are connected to the Internet.
A keylogger is a small program that monitors each keystroke a client types on a specific computer’s keyboard. Keyloggers can steal valuable information that can allow a thief access to your online banking account etc.
Malware is software that is designed to damage a computer system without the owner’s informed permission. It is a combination of the words malicious and software. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.
Phishing is the act of deception by giving someone secret information or tricking them into doing somewhat that they normally wouldn’t do or shouldn’t do. For example: distributing e-mails to a number of users falsely claiming to be your bank etc.. in an endeavor to cheat the users into yielding private information like passwords. The latest versions of Internet Explorer 7 and FireFox 2 have built in phishing filters to help spot this kind of activity.
Root Kit is a set of tools that hackers embed in a victim’s computer. They can act as a “back door” entrance onto your computer and provide information for the person who put them there. These tools have been especially designed to allow malicious processes/applications to run on your computer but evade detection.
Spyware is any technology that assists in collection of information about a computer user without their knowledge. Spyware is software that is put in someone’s computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get in a computer as a virus or as the result of installing a new program. If you have some annoying advertising that appears on your computer all the time you are likely infected with a spyware application.
Trojan is a software application that installs malicious software while under the guise of doing something else. These are nasty things to get infected by and are used to steal data from you as you use your computer!
Virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. A virus can only spreadvirus internet worm from one computer to another when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for instance by a user sending it over a network or carrying it on a removable medium such as a CD, USB drive or by the Internet and eMail. Not all viruses are harmful BUT they all cause problems on the infected PC.
Worm is similar to a virus but with a different implementation. It is a self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other PC’s and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms can bring a PC down to the point where it is impossible to use it because it it too slow. Worms can also harm a company network by consuming most of the available network bandwidth, so that the connected PC’s can not speak with each other.
A zero-day exploit is the one that takes advantage of security vulnerability on the same day that the vulnerability becomes generally known. Ordinarily, after someone detects that a software program contains a potential exposure to exploitation by a hacker that person or company can notify the software company and sometimes the world at large so that action can be taken to repair the exposure or defend against its exploitation.
Zombie is a program that secretly takes over another Internet attached computer and then uses that computer to launch attacks that are difficult to trace. Zombies are typically used in denial of service attacks (DOS), typically against targeted Websites. 10,000 zombie PC’s can be used in a single attack! What usual happens is a criminal gang will approach the “owner” of the zombie PC’s and pay them to perform an “attack.”
However you can generally remain safe if you:
Use an up to date AntiVirus package, AntiSpyware package, make sure your Windows Firewall is on and have Windows Updates set to automatically receive any updates from Microsoft as they become available.
In addition if you have not yet moved to Internet Explorer 7 or FireFox 2, from an older version, do so now!
Autocasting: Automated form of podcasting that allows bloggers and blog readers to generate audio |
Audioblog: A blog where the posts consist mainly of voice recordings sent by mobile phone, sometimes with some short text message added for metadata purposes. (cf. podcasting) |
Blaudience: The audience, or readership, of a blog. |
Blath: A math oriented blog. A portmanteau of “math” and “blog”. |
Blog Carnival: A blog article that contains links to other articles covering a specific topic. Most blog carnivals are hosted by a rotating list of frequent contributors to the carnival, and serve to both generate new posts by contributors and highlight new bloggers posting matter in that subject area. |
Blistless or B-listless: When a blogger becomes listless or apathetic about posting. It is also |
Blog client: (weblog client) is software to manage (post, edit) blogs from operating system with no need to launch a web browser. A typical blog client has an editor, a spell-checker and a few more options that simplify content creation and editing. |
Blogger: Person who runs a blog. Also blogger.com, a popular blog hosting web site. Rarely: weblogger. |
Bloggies: One of the most popular blog awards. |
Blog Farm: A website constructed from a group of linked weblogs, typically with the main blog aggregating the total content/acting as a gateway. |
Blog feed: The XML-based file in which the blog hosting software places a machine-readable version of the blog so that it may be “syndicated” for further distribution on the web. Formats such as RSS and Atom are used to structure the XML file. |
Blog Hopping: To follow links from one blog entry to another, with related side-trips to various articles, sites, discussion forums, and more. |
Bloglet: A small blog entry, usually one or two sentences long. |
Blogoneer: A portmanteau of “blog” and “pioneer”, meaning a person who blogs with an expert or pioneering attitude. |
Blogorrhea: A portmanteau of “blog” and “logorrhea”, meaning excessive and/or incoherent talkativeness in a weblog. |
Blogosphere: All blogs, or the blogging community. Also called blogistan or, more rarely, blogspace. |
Blogroll: A list of blogs. A blogger features a list of their favorite blogs in the sidebar of their blog. |
Blog site: The web location (URL) of a blog, which may be either a dedicated domain, a sub-domain, or embedded within a web site. |
Blogsite: Sometimes confused with a simple blog or blog site, but a blogsite is a web site which combines blog feeds from a variety of sources, as well as non-blog sources, and adds significant value over the raw blog feeds. |
Blogsnob: A person who refuses to respond to comments on their blog from people outside their circle of friends. |
Blogstorm: When a large amount of activity, information and opinion erupts around a particular subject or controversy in the blogosphere, it is sometimes called a blogstorm or blog swarm. |
BlogThis: Pioneered by Blogger.com, BlogThis links on a blog allow the reader to automatically generate a blog entry based on the blog entry he/she is reading, and post to their blog. |
Blooger: A blogger who exhibits adolescent tendencies and lacks basic social graces or good manners. A portmanteau of “blog” and “booger.” |
Categories: This is a method of organizing blog entries by assigning each entry to a predetermined topic. Each topic (category) will link to a list of entries, all with related content. |
Celeblog: A blog detailing the lives of movie stars, musicians, and other celebrities, much like tabloid magazines. They often feature embarrassing or revealing paparazzi photos. |
Comment spam: Like e-mail spam. Robot “spambots” flood a blog with advertising in the form of bogus comments. A serious problem that requires bloggers and blog platforms to have tools to exclude some users or ban some addresses in comments. |
Clix: A person’s circle of online communities |
Dark Blog: A non-public blog (e.g. behind a firewall) |
Desktop Blogging Client: An off-line blog management (posting, editing and archiving) tool. |
Fisking: To rebut a blog entry in a line-by-line fashion. |
GBCW: The “Good Bye Cruel World” diary is when a Kossack decides that Daily Kos has become too (fill in the blank) or isn’t nearly (fill in the blank) enough for him or her to continue visiting the site. General chaos ensues in the Comments as other Kossacks agree, disagree, and wish the diarist good luck or good riddance. |
Instalanche: Sudden and possibly overwhelming increase in traffic to a site after being linked to by the Instapundit. |
Hits: Number of users visited is often referred as hits. (website / blog hits). |
HT: “Hat Tip” An acknowledgment of the source where you found the noteworthy item. |
Koufax: An annual quasi-Liberal webblog award. |
Kos Kid: A term for any one who posts, or reads regularly, the blog Daily Kos. Also known as “Kwazy Kos Kids” after the eccentric nature of some of the members. |
Lazy Web: Making a suggestion to an internet community in the hopes that someone else will do the work. |
Link Love: linking to a site or blog, usually unsolicited, that you like, enjoy, or find useful. |
Linkroll: A list of recently-bookmarked links with brief descriptions, in the sidebar of a blog. |
Momosphere: Term to encompass blogs written by mothers. A portmanteau of “mom” and “blogosphere”. |
Natural Blogarithm: Used to describe the vibe or rhythm of the blogging community. A portmanteau of blog and natural logarithm. |
PENUS (Potentially Exciting News Under Scrutiny): Use this when you have something big that you can’t wait to show to the blogosphere. |
Permalink (Permanent link : The unique URL of a single post. Use this when you want to link to a post |
Phlog: Type of blog utilising the Gopher protocol instead of HTTP. |
Ping: The alert in the TrackBack system that notifies the original poster of a blog post when someone else writes an entry concerning the original post. |
Podcasting: Contraction of “iPod” and “broadcasting” (but not for iPods only). Posting audio and video material on a blog and its RSS feed, for digital players. |
Post: An entry written and published to a blog. |
RSS: Really Simple Syndication is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. |
RSS aggregator: Software or online service allowing a blogger to read an RSS feed, especially the latest posts on their favourite blogs. Also called a reader or feedreader. |
RSS feed: The file containing a blog’s latest posts. It is read by an RSS aggregator/reader and shows at once when a blog has been updated. It may contain only the title of the post, the title plus the first few lines of a post, or the entire post. |
Scribosphere: Term to encompass blogs written by professional and aspiring screenwriters. A portmanteau of “scribe” and “blogosphere”. |
Shart: An acronym; Stubborn, Hostile And Resentful Troll, the most feared kind. A blog that falls victim to such a troll is said to have been “sharted”. A blogger who vandalises their own page for sympathy is said to have sharted |
Shocklog: Weblogs to produce shocking discussions by posting various shocking content. |
Spam blog: A blog which is composed of spam. A Spam blog or “any blog whose creator doesn’t add any written value.” |
Slashdotted: The Slashdot effect can hit blogs or other website, and is caused by a major website (usually Slashdot, but also Digg, Metafilter, Boing Boing, Instapundit and others) sending huge amounts of temporary traffic that often slow down the server. |
Subscribe: The term used when a blogs feed is added to a feed reader like Bloglines or Google. Some blogging platforms have internal subscriptions, this allows readers to receive notification when there are new posts in a blog. |
Svithe: A spiritually themed post on a blog not normally focused on spiritual matters. |
Template: Templates, used on the “back end” of a blog that work together to handle information and present it on a blog. |
Theme: CSS based code that when applied to the templates will result in visual element changes to the |
TrackBack: A system that allows a blogger to see who has seen the original post and has written another entry concerning it. The system works by sending a ‘ping’ between the blogs, and therefore providing the alert. |
| Troll: A commenter whose sole purpose is to attack the views expressed on a blog and incite a flamewar, for example, a liberal going to a conservative blog, or vice versa. The word trolling means literally ‘to fish’, ie. when the troll fishes for a clashback from the blog writer and/or pro commenters. |
| Vloggers: Those who share streaming or downloaded video content on the web often engage in voraging, scouring search engines and obscure websites to present a curated collection of videos that usually fall within a set theme or editorial perspective. |
| Vlog: A video blog; a vlogger is a video blogger (e.g. someone who records himself interviewing people of a certain field). |
| Vorage: A marriage between the words forage and video defined as “The act of foraging for video on the internet and sharing it with others.” |
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