[A - C][D - G][H - L][M - Q][R - V][W - Z]

Rank
Where a website is listed with a Search Engine’s results. The aim of Search Engine Optimisation is to improve a website’s rank so that it appears nearer to top of the Results pages and so is more likely to be found by people searching for a certain topic. Just having your website listed by Search Engines does not guarantee that it will be found; it is the ranking that will decide that. (Also known as Position or Ranking)

Reciprocal Link
A reciprocal link is when two websites agree to place a link to the other website on their own - effectively a link
exchange between two websites.

Registration
[See Submission]

Results Page
[see Search Engine Results Page]

Return on Investment
This is a measurement which shows the current or expected future value of a project or an investment. In relation to Search Engine Marketing (or any marketing activity), it is a measurement that shows what the advertiser receives in return for the cost of the advertising. This will normally refer to new sales in this case. If an advertiser has spent £200 on a campaign and has generated £300 in additional sales then the ROI would be 150%.

Robot
[see Crawler]

ROI
Acronym for Return on Investment

Search Engine
A website (and the technology supporting it) which allows someone to users to search for specific information and websites from the World Wide Web. The user generally types a query (made up of a word or a phrase) into a search box and the the Search Engine produces the set of Results Pages which rank the websites according to the perceived relevance of their content to the query.

Search Engine Marketing
The process of marketing a website on the Internet through the Search Engines. The main elements of such a campaign should include Search Engine Optimisation, a Pay Per Click programme and Link Building. (Also known as SEM)

Search Engine Optimisation
The process of improving the ranking of a web page in the results generated by Search Engines through the choice of targeted Key Terms relevant to the subject matter of the page and then their careful placement on the web page itself and in the HTML code which created it (for example in the Meta Tags). Search Engine Optimisation is an essential element of a Web Promotion or a Search Engine Marketing programme. (Also known as SEO)

Search Engine Results Page
These are results that someone sees after they have typed a query into a Search Engine. The websites (in organic listings) are theoretically ranked in order of their relevance to the item that is being searched for. (Also known as SERPS)

Search Terms
The word or phrase that someone using a Search Engine enters into the search box.

SEM
Acronym for Search Engine Marketing

SEO
Acronym for Search Engine Optimisation

SERPs
Acronym for Search Engine Results Page

Server
In Internet terms, a server (or specifically a Web Server) is a special computer which hosts a website and allows download of web pages over the Internet when someone requests them via their browser.

Shopping Cart or Shopping Basket
This is a piece of software which allows your customers to select items from your online catalogue, add them to a virtual "shopping cart" and keep track of what they have ordered. When they have finished shopping, they "check out" to complete the purchase and proceed to the payment and shipping section where payment details are taken.

Spam (or Spamming)
So called "junk" emails which are sent to a large number of people without their consent to promote products or services. It is alo sometimes referred to as UCE or Unsolicited Commercial Email. (Also a famous Monty Python song - but that’s less relevant here)

Spider
[See Crawler]

Search Engine Submission
This is the process of submitting a website address or URL to a Search Engine for inclusion within its index so that it can be found when the relevant query is typed into the Search Engine. Submission to a Search Engine does not guarantee its inclusion in the index and nor does it influence where a website is ranked on the Results pages. To help improve ranking a Search Engine Marketing programme is advised.

URL
Acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. This is effectively another way to describe the address of your website and generally will be given in the form http://www.rosetta-alba.com.