Glossary of Online Marketing terms

I will use this page as a reference to various online marketing terms that will pop up in my posts. This is not a complete list at this point, but will do my best to update it and add as many of the terms as possible over time so please keep checking back.

Banner (display) - A graphic that appears on a web page that is linked to an advertisers web site. May be in a variety of formats including GIF, JPEG, Flash, HTML, Java, JavaScript, etc

Insertion Order - An online or printed document that specifies the details of an advertising campaign. The terms of the agreement may also be specified on the insertion order or they may be placed in a separate document but are almost always referred to the insertion order if not present.

Impressions - The number of times a banner ad was requested and presumably seen by users.

Campaign - The process of planning, creating, buying and tracking an advertising project from start to finish.

Conversion - Term used to describe the process of getting a web visitor to complete a desired action or become a paying customer. Advertisers strive for high conversion ratios.

CPA - Cost per action (CPA) is one of the online payment models by which advertisers pays for ever action (sale or registration) completed as a result of a visitor clicking on their advertisement. 

CPC - Cost per click (CPC) is one of the online payment models by which advertisers pays for each click through made on their advertisement. 

CPL - a cost per lead (CPL) method allows advertisers to pay for every lead or customer inquiry that resulted from a visitor who clicked on their advertisement. 

Creative - The technology used to create a banner or other type of advertising material. Common creative types include GIF, JPEG, Java, HTML, Flash or streaming audio/video.

Demographics - Information regarding the size and characteristics of a particular population of people of interest to advertisers Such as their age, sex, income, education, size of household, ownership of home, etc.

Lead - Term used to describe a person or company that has expressed interest in an offer. Companies follow up on leads in hopes of converting them into customers.

Media Kit - Information offered to potential advertisers by publishers to help advertisers understand the publishers rates, visitor demographics, terms, etc.

Publisher - This is the web site operator.  publisher displays ads, text links, or product links on its web site, in e-mail campaigns, or in search listings and is paid a commission by the respective advertiser when the ad is displayed, clicked on, or the user takes a specific action such as filling out a form, making a purchase or subscribing to a service.

Rate Card - The published rates and ad space availability for a particular media such as a web site. Usually subject to change and often negotiable

ROS - Run of site (ROS) means a banner will appear anywhere on a web site as opposed to run of category 

SOV – Share of Voice means the total impressions served by the site during a certain period, expressed in percentage %

Test Campaign - means a small campaign with a low budget in order to check all the parameters that will make the campaign a success if we run it.

Text Links - Text that is linked to another web page. Can be found on web sites or in newsletters and email, often identified by appearing in blue with a line under it

Unique Visitors - A term used to describe the total number of visitors to a site over a certain time period

Visit - A series of page requests by a visitor without 30 consecutive minutes of inactivity. The number 30 is arbitrary but most commonly used among web advertisers and publishers. Also called a session.

 Credit for a lot of the work above goes to ADglossary.com