Hey newbie, I can feel your pain…
I know how it feels when everyone’s using internet marketing terminologies and throwing around abbreviations that you’ve no idea about.
“CTA, PPC, CPM, skyscraper technique, tripwire, lead magnet, PBN, DA, PA, DR, Black Hat, Whitehat, etc etc etc”.
Wtf!!
It can all look really complex and overwhelming but it really isn’t so difficult once you understand these internet marketing concepts and buzzwords.
In fact, there’s nothing complex about internet marketing.
It’s the same marketing principles applied using the internet and people like to make things complex because it makes them look intelligent.
But I’m here to change that.
In this post, I’ll simplify more than 100 internet marketing concepts for you.
Without going into the details, I’ll explain them in 2-3 sentences so that you, and even your granny, have a good idea of what they really are.
You can, of course, go into the details of each concept as much as you want because there’s so much written about all of them on the internet.
But here, I’ll keep it short, sweet, and simple.
Because that’s what marketing really is.
The Most Commonly Used Online Marketing Terminologies
Online marketing is a vast field with lots of different specialized areas. Each area or category has its own set of terminologies that can only be understood when you know the right context.
To make it easier for you to understand, I’ve divided the terminologies into different categories.
Here you go.
The Basics of Internet Marketing
- Online/Internet/Digital Marketing
These are interchangeable terminologies with more or less the same meaning. Online marketing simply means marketing a product, a service or a business using the internet and the tools available on it (websites, search engines, social media, advertising etc.) to reach a certain target audience.
Source: Visually
- Domain Name (www.yourwebsite.com)
This is the address of a website’s homepage on the internet just like buildings and houses have addresses in the real world.
- Website Hosting
Your website needs a dedicated space on the internet where it can store files and data. Website hosting companies give you that space for monthly or annual rent. For example, NicheHacks uses the web hosting services of Wpengine. Before that, we used BlueHost.
- Website
It’s an online page or group of pages under the same domain name or website address.
- Blog
Technically, a blog is also a website which is why the term was coined from “web log” However, blogs are dedicated to articles only and are usually used as a separate section of a website.
- CMS
A Content Management System (CMS) is an online application or software that makes it easy for users to create and manage online content without the need for complex coding skills.
- WordPress
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS) used by more than 30% of the websites on the internet including NicheHacks.
- Niche
It’s a small and well-defined market segment with a common problem. For example, Health & Fitness is an industry and health & fitness for heart patients in the U.S is a niche. Got it?
- Niche Marketing
Targeting a specific niche in your marketing activities and making a profit by solving the problems of that niche with genuinely useful products/services.
- Digital Nomad
A tech-savvy location independent professional who can work from anywhere in the world while traveling full-time.
Here are some of the key attributes of a digital nomad
Source: DesignTaxi
- Freelancer
Professionals who work with multiple clients at the same time by trading time for money without a fixed employment contract. Their relationship with a client ends when a project is completed.
Source: Due
Affiliate Marketing Terminologies
- Advertiser
In internet marketing terms, an advertiser is a product owner who pays third-party platforms or other websites to run product advertisements and promotions.
- Affiliate Marketer/Publisher
An affiliate marketer promotes products of other advertisers and earns a commission (a percentage of the product’s price) on every sale.
- Affiliate Marketing
Marketing the products of other retailers to people who need them and earning a commission on every sale.
- Affiliate Network
An affiliate network connects advertisers with affiliate marketers. Advertisers list their products on affiliate networks to attract relevant affiliate marketers who can promote them to the end customers.
This infographic will help you understand the whole concept of affiliate marketing and the relationship between different stakeholders.
Source: PepperJam
- CPA Marketing
Cost Per Action (CPA) is an advertising type in which a marketer is paid only when a customer clicks on his ad and performs a certain action (defined by the advertiser).
Source: Backlinko
- CPC Marketing
Cost Per Click (CPC) is an advertising type in which a marketer is paid as soon as a user clicks on his ad. Google Adsense is a prime example of CPC marketing.
- Expert
In the real world, an expert is someone who has total command over a subject. In online marketing, however, anyone who knows more than his target audience is an expert.
- Product Review Site
A site that publishes detailed product reviews to simplify the purchase decision for prospective buyers, and earns a commission on every sale.
Here’s an example
- Price Comparison Site
A site that lists and compares the prices of similar products and services, and makes a commission by helping prospective buyers choose the best deal.
Skyscanner is a good example of a successful price comparison site.
- Coupon Site
These sites list exclusive discount coupons of different products and services and make a commission when someone uses their coupons to make a purchase.
- Digital Product
An eBook, a video course, an email course, an online tool or any other downloadable digital resource that customers can buy and use online.
- Membership Site
A site that offers tools, services, information products or any other kind of product for a fixed monthly/annual subscription fee. NicheHacks Insider is a classic example of a membership site.
- MVP
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a basic version of a bigger product vision which still fulfills the core customer need and validates the product idea.
- Physical Product
Real-world word products sold in bricks and mortar stores.
Content Marketing Terminologies
- Content
Content most commonly refers to the text content of a web page (although videos, images and audio files are also considered as web content)
- Content Marketing
Publishing and promoting online content that creates interest in a brand’s product or services and results in customer loyalty and increased sales.
- High-Quality Content
Genuinely useful content that solves a specific problem of the target audience and offers detailed and actionable knowledge backed by data evidence.
- Scannable Content
Content that is broken down into smaller paragraphs and headings.
Source: TwelveSkip
- Expert Round-Up
A single article with quotes and interviews from multiple experts of an industry on a specific topic. Here’s an example.
- List Post
An article with a list of actions/items on a specific topic.
- Evergreen Content
Content that always remains relevant and is not time-sensitive.
- Skyscraper Technique
Finding the best content on a topic in terms of traffic and social shares, and creating a MUCH better version of it for your own blog. The term was coined by Brian Dean.
- Clickbait
Headlines that use sensationalism and curiosity to attract clicks and traffic.
Viral Nova is a great example of how clickbait headlines work
- Landing Page
In internet marketing terminology, a landing page is specifically designed to convert visitors, from a marketing campaign, into subscribers or customers.
- Call To Action (CTA)
In marketing, a call to action (CTA) is an instruction (in the form of a link or simple text) designed to trigger certain action by the users. Buttons and text like “Subscribe Now”, “Buy Now”, Call Now” are examples of CTAs.
- Blogging
Publishing articles on a blog about a certain topic.
- Vlogging
Video Blogging (Vlogging) means publishing videos about a certain topic on a blog, a YouTube channel or any other platform.
- A-List Bloggers/Marketers
The top and the most widely followed bloggers in a niche.
- Influencer
An influencer is someone who has a dedicated following on the internet and whose opinions impact the decisions of the masses.
Source: Brighton
- Tribe
Your group of dedicated followers on the web who consider you an expert
- Influencer Outreach
Reaching out to the top influencers in a niche via email or social media to build relationships and to seek their help in promoting relevant content to their audiences.
- Newsjacking
A content marketing technique to attract more traffic by publishing content based on popular and trending news stories.
- Webinar
An interactive video seminar conducted for a large audience on the internet.
- Podcast
A digital audio file (usually an interview or a program) that users can listen and subscribe to.
SEO Terminologies
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is the process of increasing a website’s search rankings mainly by creating high-quality content and acquiring backlinks from other authority websites through outreach.
Source: AlligatorMedia
- Duplicate Content
Any content that is already present on the internet and is published again in more or less the same form.
- Unique Content
Content that has not been published on the internet in that particular form.
- Crawlers
Google’s automatic robots that explore the internet to find and index new content.
- Search Index
The list of websites, web pages and content that has been crawled by Google crawlers.
- Organic Search Traffic
The traffic that comes from search engines as a result of a user’s search query.
- Bounce Rate
The percentage of a website’s traffic that leaves immediately after landing on one of its pages.
- Returning Traffic
The percentage of visitors to a website with more than 1 visit.
- Avg. Session Duration
The average time users spend on a website or a web page.
- Google Search Algorithm
It’s an automatic program/process which ensures that all the websites in Google’s search index are ranked against different keywords based on Google’s search guidelines.
- Google Algorithmic Penalty
When a website violates Google’s search guidelines and rules, Google’s search algorithms automatically penalize it and decrease its search ranking.
- Google Manual Penalty
A manual penalty occurs when a human reviewer in Google determines that your website has violated Google’s search guidelines.
- Search Keywords
The words people use to find content on Google Search.
- Keyword Research
The process of finding high traffic keywords to target in an SEO campaign.
- Long-Tail Keywords
A search query with more than 3 keywords.
- Keyword Stuffing
The malpractice of using search keywords excessively and unnecessarily in a piece of content to get higher search rankings.
- LSI Keyword
Keywords that are closely related to your target keyword.
- Backlinks
A link to your website from another site. Google considers every backlink as a vote of confidence for your site.
Source: Moz
- Link Juice
The SEO value transferred through a backlink.
- No-Follow Link
A backlink with a ‘no-follow’ HTML tag means it has no SEO value for the site receiving the link.
- Link Building
The process of acquiring backlinks from different websites and platforms to a particular web page.
- Anchor Text
The text content of a hyperlink.
- Alternate Text
Alt-Text is used to describe images to search engines.
- Domain Authority
It’s a common SEO score developed by MOZ to determine the SEO strength of a domain name.
- Domain Age
The number of years a domain name has been active.
- Expired Domain
A domain name that was previously active but not in use anymore.
- Black Hat SEO
Aggressive SEO strategies that violate Google’s search guidelines.
- White Hat SEO
SEO strategies that are in line with Google’s guidelines.
- Gray Hat SEO
SEO strategies that aren’t clearly defined by Google’s search guidelines and focus more on manipulating search algorithms.
Source: NeilPatel
- Private Blog Network (PBN)
It’s a black hat SEO technique that uses a hidden network of blogs owned by the same entity built for the purpose of increasing search authority and building links pointing to a particular web page.
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
The process of getting visitors from search engines by using paid advertisements.
- Social Media Marketing
Acquiring traffic or creating awareness about a brand, a website, or a piece of content by using social media.
- Social Media Engagement
The number of times users have liked, shared or responded to a social media post.
- Facebook Marketing
Using paid advertisements for promotional activities on Facebook.
- Retargeting Pixel
A piece of code on your website that allows you to show advertisements to anyone who has visited your website in a defined time period.
Source: SocialMediaToday
- Twitter Chat
A public conversation on Twitter around a unique hashtag.
- Social Proof
A public show of confidence in a product or service in the form of testimonials, case studies, usage stats, or social media comments.
Here’s an example.
Source: Kissmetrics
- Social Media Trend
The most popular topics being discussed on social media
- Troll
Ah, those dirty trolls! In internet marketing terms, a troll is someone who deliberately makes provocative social media posts about someone to distract them from something or to get an angry response.
- Viral
An article, a video, or any other form of online content that is shared rapidly on social media.
Email Marketing Terminologies
- Email List Building
The process of persuading people to willingly join your email list so that you can send them marketing and sales content in future.
- Permission-Based Marketing
Seeking permission from users before adding them to an email list and sending them marketing and sales messages. This is usually done using lead magnets and double opt-ins.
- Email Autoresponder
Series of automated emails that are sent on fixed intervals or based on certain predefined conditions.
- Opt-in Box
Email subscription box where users enter their email address and name to join an email list.
Here’s an example
Source: Constant Contact
- Subscriber
A user who has willingly subscribed to your email list.
- Lead
A subscriber who has shown interest in your product by downloading a lead magnet or by engaging actively with your content.
- Customer
Someone who has paid to use your product.
- Return Customer
A customer who has purchased from you in the past as well.
- Marketing Funnel
An email marketing process that involves multiple stages to turn visitors into subscribers, subscribers into leads, leads into customers, and customers into returning customers.
Source: ConvertKit
- LTV
Lifetime Value (LTV) refers to the average amount of money you can make from a single customer while they remain subscribed to your product/services.
- Lead Magnet
A free high-value resource (usually an eBook, a video, or an email course) that solves an immediate problem of your audience and which they can download for free by entering their email address.
- Tripwire
A high-value product offered to your subscribers at a discounted rate immediately after they join your email list to turn them into buyers.
- Lead Nurturing
It is the process of building a relationship with your subscribers through continuous interaction and messaging and to build credibility with them so that they’re easier to convert into customers.
- Conversion Rate
In internet marketing terms, the conversion rate is the percentage of people that convert from one stage of the marketing funnel to another. For example, conversion from a visitor into a subscriber, subscriber into a lead, lead into a customer.
- Conversion Rate Optimization
The process of changing different aspects of the sales funnel to improve conversion rate.
- A/B testing
Testing two different varieties of emails or landing pages to see which one has a higher user engagement rate.
eCommerce Terminologies
- eCommerce
Electronic Commerce (eCommerce) refers to commercial transactions n the internet. In simpler words, it’s the buying and selling of products or services on the internet.
- Business to Business (B2B)
A transaction in which one business sells products or services to another business
- Business to Consumer (B2C)
A transaction in which a business sells directly to a consumer
- Payment Gateway
The platform that processes online payments for an eCommerce website
- Shopping Cart
A virtual cart in which all the ready-to-be-purchased products of a consumer are saved.
- Abandonment Rate
The percentage of users who abandon an online transaction after adding products to their shopping cart.
Do you want more?
Of course, you do
Because these terminologies keep coming up all the time.
Which is why we’ll keep updating this list from time to time.
For now, though, let no jargon-monster intimidate you ever again.
And do let me know if the comments if there are any other internet marketing concepts of terminologies you need to know about.
