Social Media Glossary Definitions: "S"
Search engine marketing is the umbrella term for a range of marketing activities which market a website via the search engines. May include paid for search, search engine optimisation and link building. Doesn’t include going down on bended knee and begging outside Google Towers.
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
Search engine optimisation is arranging your website to give it the best chance of appearing near the top of the search engine rankings. This includes having the right design and layout, great content and the right keywords and search terms. And then you just have to cross your fingers.
Search engine positioning (SEP)
Search engine positioning or promotion refers to the constant monitoring and modifying of a website in order for it to achieve higher search engine rankings. A close relative of SEO. In fact they have the same mother: Search engine marketing.
Where your site appears on the search engine results page is known as your search engine ranking. Position 1 on page 1 is ideal. Well, you can go to page 3 or maybe 4 at a push. After that you are in the search engine equivalent of Death Valley. Was that tumbleweed we just saw?
Search engine results page (SERPS)
Go to the search engine website. Type in a keyword or search term for a topic you want information on and press search. The search engine results page is the page that lists the links to the appropriate websites. Start on page one and work your way down. And down. And down.
Search engines (like Google and Yahoo) are websites that know the content of all the other websites on the Web. So when you want to know something, ask a search engine and you’ll get a long list of links to appropriate websites. Search engines know everything. A bit like your mum.
A search term or keyword is what you type into the search engine search box when you’re looking for a particular topic. So a website with an appropriate amount of the right search terms will get a better search engine ranking. Too many however and Google will kick you to the curb.
Looking for information online is known as searching. You can search on the search engines using keywords or search terms. Or by tags on websites like YouTube and Flickr. Try searching for the meaning of life and see what you get.
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world built and owned by its residents which now has about 5 million members worldwide. It was started in 2003 by Linden Labs in San Francisco. Yup. Only in California.
Seeding refers to ‘viral’ agencies which place messages, pictures and videos on such sites as YouTube or Flickr and then just leave them there. No interaction. No conversation with the customer. It’s a all a bit seedy really.
The Semantic Web is a project under the direction of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which aims to extend the current Web and will allow you to find, share, and combine information more easily. Like a new and improved washing powder. Same stuff only better.
SEO PR combines search engine optimisation with PR to optimise and promote websites. So, clients and agencies write effective press releases, marketing white papers, and ezine-newsletter content that generate leads as well as publicity. Genius.
Skype is a cool bit of software that lets you make free calls over the internet to anyone else who has Skype. You can also call landlines and mobile phones at a really cheap rate. And send messages, files, and other stuff. Oh, and the emoticons are really cute too.
Social bookmarking is when you share your favourite or bookmarked websites on a public web based service such as del.icio.us. The list of your favourite sites can be then be shared with others who have similar interests. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling doesn’t it?
Social currency is used to define the value that people have in a social setting: some people are rich, rich, rich whilst others are overdrawn. Social currency is also something that provokes interest and quickly gets passed around. Like a joke. So a man walks into a bar. Ouch.
Social media refers to the technology used that enables you to reach a worldwide audience. Like…instantly. And unlike old media, social media such as blogs, wikis and forums, give your reader the right to reply. Like…instantly. It’s all instant. Like coffee.
A social media release is a news release that uses social media features like blogs, podcasts and news feeds and will also include links to information and resources. This allows a journalist to cover the story with greater ease and gives them more time to enjoy in the pub.
Often easier to get into than the real life variety, online social networks refer to internet applications such as MySpace, Flickr and Facebook that help connect friends, students and complete strangers. Soon you won’t need to leave the house.
An application which allows you to share information, pool knowledge and collaborate with thousands of others online is known as social software. Isn’t it great that we all get along?
Part of Web 2.0, social web is considered to be a new layer of the internet. It’s similar to the current web but will connect people, organisations and concepts rather than documents. Gives a whole new meaning to the expression ‘being sociable’.
Spam, spam, spam. Monty Python sang about it. We hate it. Spam refers to the unsolicited mass emails we get everyday encouraging us to buy shares, purchase pills or invest in a llama farm in Timbuktu. Aaaaaand delete.
A Spambot trawls the internet creating mailing lists from the unsuspecting emails it finds on web pages, newsgroups and chat rooms. These emails are then used as targets for spam. Spambot is bad. Spambot should be sent to bed with no tea.
Creating and sending unsolicited mass emails or spam is known as spamming. Spamming can also mean sending unwanted text messages and instant messages – often called spimming. Just. So. Annoying.
Spiders, crawlers or robots work for search engines and crawl the web gathering information on new web pages, updating old pages and deleting dead pages. Spiders are like your Nan at a jumble sale: they like to have a good old poke around.
Spam blogs or splogs are fake blogs which are created to increase the search engine rankings of the sites the splog points to; to display Google’s ads; and promote affiliated sites. Splogs are different to spam in blogs which is spam comment on a regular blog. Both are sleazy.
Online sponsorship is when your business sponsors the website of another company. It can be a great way reach a whole new market of customers and increase customer goodwill just by association. And here’s a brief message from our sponsors…
The stickiness of a website refers to the amount of time you spend on a site or a particular web page and the frequency with which you return. A site’s stickiness will depend on its sticky content. A site’s stickiness is a good thing. Sitting in stickiness is not. Best avoided.
Having sticky content or interesting information that is updated regularly will encourage your visitor to stay longer on your site. And then come back for more. Sticky content is good. Being sticky is kind of gross.
Stingers are short clips of music or sounds effects. They’re handy for separating different parts of your podcast so your listener will know when one section has ended and another is about to begin. Ta-daaaaa is a stinger.
Streaming media is audio (sound) or video (picture) files that are transmitted on the internet and can begin playing as soon as they start being downloaded to your PC. Ideal for the chronically impatient.
Syndication is the distribution of news articles from websites and blogs for the use on other websites via web syndication formats such as RSS and Atom. Cindy was also the youngest member of the Brady Bunch.
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