There’s always a moment when you’re speaking to someone from an internet marketing company where you don’t quite understand something that’s been said, but you nod along anyway. Well, not for much longer! Browse our guide and take your first steps into understanding some of the, frankly ridiculous, terms that we use.
Alt Tags
Alt tags (or alt text) appear within the HTML coding for your website and describe an image that displays when you open the page. There are three functions to an alt tag:
- Accessibility – For visually impaired internet users, a screen reader will read out the alt tag so that they can better understand the image you have used on the page.
- Display – If an image doesn’t load, for whatever reason, the alt tag will be displayed in place of the image.
- Indexing – Search engines use your alt tag description to index your image appropriately.
Blog
A blog is a sort of online journal or diary where you can share information on a specific subject in an informal way.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate refers to the number of people who visit your website and leave without hopping on to any other pages. Usually supplied as a percentage, bounce rate helps us to understand the effectiveness of any given page, with the implication being that if a website has a high bounce rate, it isn’t keeping the attention of a visitor.
CMS
CMS, or content management system, is a kind of programme that manages the creation of any digital content. For example, if you were to write a blog, you could use a system such as WordPress, which would allow you to create, manage, and edit all of your posts in one place. Thus, a CMS.
Content
Content refers to the actual text on your website, the part that’s going to persuade your site visitors into becoming a customer.
DNS Redirect
DNS stands for domain name system, and this is used as a naming system for anything that is connected to the internet, including computers and services. A DNS redirect refers to a practice involving redirecting an internet user to an alternative domain from the one they intended to visit. Now, that may sound a little questionable, but don’t worry, there’s nothing malicious behind it. When we utilise a DNS redirect, it is to direct traffic to the website that we’re building for you, from an old domain that you already own (and is hosted elsewhere), so that visitors of your old site are pointed toward your new, fully functioning website with us.
Domain Transfer
The domain transfer process refers to the procedure of moving the domain you already own from your current host, over to us. That may sound complicated but think of it in terms of a bank. Your domain is a current account and your current domain host and Web.com are the banks. It’s just a simple switch over.
Geo-Targeting
Geo-targeting is the practice of delivering content or advertisements to customers based on their geographic location. This is an especially valuable asset to owners of businesses who exclusively provide their services locally, such as takeaways, plumbers, and electricians. On our websites, we like to make sure that your visitors know exactly where you are, which is why we include your village, town, or city, as well as your county.
GMB
GMB stands for Google My Business, and this is a business profile that we can set up on your behalf. Your GMB helps you to reach local customers by making sure that you appear in local search results and on Google Maps.
H1
The H1 is what we call the primary heading on any given page. There are varying levels of headings (from 1 – 6), and we utilise them throughout a page to break up content and make it easier on the eye.
Page Impression
Page impressions refer to the number of times a website has been viewed by a user. In the back end of your website, you’ll be able to keep an eye on this number and see how many times your site has been visited.
Indexing
Indexing is the process of ‘submitting’ your website to sites like Google. Search engines such as Google will then scour your website and use pieces of information, like keywords, to understand what your website is about. This is then used to bring up your site when users are searching for terms and services like those that are on your website.
Keywords
Keywords are the terms that define what the content on your website is about. For example, if you are a plumber, you are likely to have the term ‘plumber’ as a keyword on your website. In terms of SEO, keywords are also the terms that users search when they visit search engines. Sticking with the plumber example, you would then try to utilise a term like ‘sink repairs’ within your content, so that when internet users search for this term, your website appears in the rankings.
Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are HTML samples that are placed in the back end of your website. They appear in the SERPs (don’t worry, this is covered later) and describe any given page on your website. They are used as a little pitch that convinces a searcher that your page is exactly what they are looking for. Good descriptions are human-readable, unique, and contain the appropriate keywords and phrases.
Ranking
When we use the term ‘rankings’, we’re referring to the position of your site on a search engine. Using a series of complex algorithms, engines, such as Google, rank websites against each other based on a variety of factors, including relevance and authority. To put it simply, a search engine will provide you with a list of websites that are ranked by how relevant they are to your search terms.
SEO
Search engine optimisation involves a spectrum of varying techniques, however, it boils down to this: it is an amalgamation of the methods used to affect the visibility of your website in organic rankings. It is a combination of content marketing, on- and off-page SEO, keywords, and other relevant bits and pieces.
SERPs
Search engine results pages, or SERPs, are the result of what happens when you make a Google search. An algorithm will draw on its knowledge of the sites it has indexed and present you with what it thinks are the most relevant options available. Each result will display a page title, a URL, and a meta description that describes the page, often with key terms (that you have searched) emboldened. This makes it easier for you to make a decision about which site you would like to visit.
SLA
A service-level agreement is a commitment made between a service provider (us) and a customer (you), and it defines the level of service that you can expect. In simple terms, it covers the services provided, the quality of the services, the expected length of the service, and the process for reporting issues.