Online Business – All Definitions You Need to Know
What is ‘black-hat and white-hat’?
‘Black-hat’ are SEO techniques that are not allowed by the search engines such as Google. ‘White-hat’ are techniques that are allowed by search engines.
In use: When SEO began as a real industry a lot of companies specialized in black hat techniques. This helped them give websites ‘the edge’ over their competition. But as the internet has matured, the search engines such as Google have started to ban black hat SEO. Now only ‘white hat’ is allowed.
What is a ‘conversion’?
A ‘conversion’ is someone who visits your website and then actually buys something. They convert (change) from being a visitor to a buyer.
What are digital ‘downloads’?
This is when you transfer a file such as a document or audio file from a website onto your computer etc.
In use: You don’t have to spend time and money actually shipping anything. The customer just buys and then can download the product immediately.
What are ‘ebooks’?
These are books that are in a digital format and sold over the internet. You can usually buy the ebook and start reading it immediately on your pc or ebook reader.
In use: They are a lot cheaper to produce, and you don’t have to send them to the customer.
What is ‘e-commerce’?
This is when you sell products over the internet. When you have an online shop.
Note: If you sell services over the internet this is not usually referred to as ‘e-commerce’ but it is similar.
In use: E-commerce has really advanced over the past 20 years. Now you can pretty much buy anything you want over the internet. The only problem with online shops is that you don’t get the human interaction that you would in a traditional shop.
What is a ‘forum’?
This is an online platform where people can ask and answer questions and have written conversations. They are good places to make contact with other people with similar interests to you.
In use: Forums are a great way to get new clients and customers. If someone posts a question that you can answer you may be able to convert them into a paying customer. It’s a great place to show your expertise and start getting people interested in what you are doing/selling.
What is an ‘online presence’?
This means that your company has a website and/or a page on social media site(s) etc.
What is ‘organic’ website traffic?
This is traffic (visitors) to your website that you didn’t have to pay for. Visitors that found your site naturally (organically), and not through advertising that you paid for.
In use: Advertising is important and you should use it to getting organic traffic to your site first. If then you are still not getting the sales that you want, you should consider ‘paid for’ traffic to your site.
What is ‘outsourcing’?
This is when you employ someone outside of your company to do pieces of work for you.
In use: For a small company, outsourcing is helping grow without the risk of taking on too many permanent staff.
What is ‘passive income’?
This is income that you earn while not actually working. For example, if you have a website that you don’t do much to, but you earn money from letting people advertise on it, then that is called ‘passive income’. Even though you only put effort into it at the beginning, it still earns money for you after you no longer do anything to it.
What is ‘pay per click’?
This is a type of online advertising. Basically, the advertiser only pays if the customer ‘clicks’ on the advert and then visits the website.
What is ‘S.E.O’?
‘S.E.O’ stands for ‘search engine optimization’. This is when you do things to make sure that your website becomes popular on Google etc. To do things to help you get more visitors to your website.
What is a ‘SERP’?
‘SERP stands for ‘search engine results page’. This is the page that comes up when you search for something in GOOGLE etc.
What is ‘social media’?
These are websites where you can meet new people, connect with old friends or make new contacts. The three most popular sites are ‘Facebook’, ‘twitter’ and ‘LinkedIn’.
What is a ‘viral video’?
If a video goes ‘viral’ online that means that it has suddenly become very popular and people are sharing it with their friends or posting it on blogs etc.
What is a ‘virtual assistant’?
A ‘virtual assistant’ is someone who works as your assistant but they do it online. They do not work in the same office as you. This is a type of ‘outsourcing’; you hire someone outside of your company to do the job of an assistant.
What is ‘website analytics’?
These are statistics that show you how well your website is doing. It shows you such things as how many visitors visit your site, how long they spend on your site, what the bounce rate is* etc.
*The ‘bounce rate’ is the number of visitors that come to your website and then just leave immediately.
In use: If you have a business website, then you need website analytics. Website analytics shows you how visitors are interacting with your website. Once you know the behavior of your website visitors, it’s easier to sell them things.
What is an ‘ad campaign’?
This is when a company advertises its products or services. Perhaps it is one type of advertisement but it could be many types, for example, magazine, TV, and billboards..
In use: Traditional ad campaigns will become a thing of the past. People will be more likely to buy off you if they trust you. So that’s where social media is really great; you can actually build up a relationship with your prospective customers.
