Clear Blue Day's Digital A To Z

The Interactive A to Z:What do you need to know?

Created by Digital Agency Clear Blue Daywww.digitalagency.com.au

A is for

AIIA

Australian Information Industry Association

The technical industry body, largely responsible for infrastructure and software issues. Think men in plaid.

Usage: The AIIA called again to complain about Telstra’s anti competitive pricing policy.

A is for

AIMIA

Australian Interactive Media Industry Association

The main organisation for companies that work in the digital industry. Includes content creators, aggregators, advertisers etc – a more creative bent that the AIIA in terms of its membership.

Usage: Those guys who aren’t wearing suits must be AIMIA members, make sure they don’t drink the bar dry.

A is for

Affiliate Marketing

Widely used practice of getting other sites to refer consumers to your web site and the other site taking a percentage of sales

Usage: Our affiliate sites will be contacting you shortly to sell you whatever you may have accidentally opted in for.

B is for

Bounce Back

Usually referred to as a percentage regarding the number of email sent out as part of a campaign that could not get through to the intended recipient due to any number reasons. Bounce back is a general term as there are many reasons why an email may not get through.

Usage: Our latest campaign had a bounce back rate of 95%. We are pleased with the results.

B is for

Broadband

A commonly misunderstood term, in the United States it refers to an internet connection that is faster that 2 Megabytes (fast!). In Australia, if you don’t have to use a modem you are considered to be on broadband.

Usage: 80% of Australians currently have access to broadband if we were going to be really broad in defining what broadband is, and everyone moved to the city.

B is for

B2B

Business to Business

A site that encourages ecommerce between commercial entities, or provides services to other businesses. The initial web boom was fuelled by B2B

Usage: I have started a B2B company where we pre-fill a company’s post it notes based on what we think they will want to write down. Now can I have 10 million is seed capital to take it internationally?

B is for

B2C

Business to consumer

Similar to B2B, but targeted at consumers. Think Amazon, EBay etc

Usage: B2C provides an excellent delivery mechanism for any new brand that wants to get its message out there for minimal per head cost.

B is for

Blog

Web - log

Initially these were only created by people with a specific area of expertise, where they would publish their thoughts online and allow people to comment.

Usage: I had two visitors to my blog last week.

C is for

CMS

Content Management System

Allows people to update the content on their web site themselves with little or no technical knowledge.

Usage: John went into our CMS again and accidentally deleted all the content, do you have a back up?

C is for

Click through rate

Expressed as a percentage, the number of people who clicked on your online ad or link compared with those who viewed it.

Usage: Many agencies are using gimmicks in their flash banners such as moving a dial or playing a game in order to increase the click through rate and please their clients.

D is for

Digital Agency

As opposed to web developers, a digital agency provides similar services to an ad agency however they only deal with the digital channel. Tend to be composed of high level strategic people as well as planners, creative, technical etc.

Usage: Our digital agency and our ad agency are at loggerheads over the online strategy, do you have a coin?

D is for

Database driven web site

If your web site is not controlled by a database, scrap it and start again. Database driven websites mean that pages can be easily changed, but more importantly user interaction can be tracked, which allows pages to change in appearance depending on user behaviour.

Usage: Users from Victoria were interested in getting a tan, so the database driven web site displayed only sunglass offers to them.

E is for

Easter Egg

A commonly used practice whereby people creating a web site will embed a movie or game somewhere on a page that is only accessible by clicking a hidden link or typing a specific sequence of keys

Usage: The easter egg for excel is the best I have seen, go to Google and do a search on it.

E is for

E book

Probably the most under utilised online marketing method, ebooks are snippets or real world books are articles that are often posted for free on the web, in exchange for some user information such as an email address.

Usage: We had 42 000 people download our ebook last month, resulting in 35 000 extra people in our database.

E is for

Emoticon

;) : x :( and more. Potentially brilliant for brand I am surprised that brands have not leveraged the fact that consumers like to create their own visual languages.

Usage: (Ü)

F is for

Facebooking

Facebook is similar to MySpace, but with a greater length of user visit and a faster adoption rate. Originally aimed at college students, expect it to dominate headlines soon. Facebooking is the act of logging in and communicating

Usage: I have been Facebooking all day instead of doing new business.

F is for

Fat finger

When you press the wrong key on your keyboard

Usage: I didn’t mean to send an email saying I quit, I just had a bad case of the fat finger.

F is for

Flash

A technology created by Adobe to allow animation on the web, often used for no real reason. It can however be highly immersive when used with a database driven site and a CMS.

Usage: The Flash introduction goes for 3 minutes.

F is for

FTP

File transfer protocol

To shift files from one computer to another you have to generally use this method.

Usage: I don’t care if the FTP isn’t working, just make the campaign live!

G is for

Generation D

Generation Digital

Increasingly popular as many brands realise that one of the main connectors between their potential customer base is the used of the digital medium, whether than be web, mobile or iTV.

Usage: Though generally having poor attention spans, Generation D have a thirst for knowledge.

G is for

Ghost site

If your web site has not been updated for two years, it is one of these. You are better off having a one page site than a ghost site.

Usage: The Australian Weather Bureau having a ghost site did not mean that the weather was unchanging.

H is for

Hotspot

Generally referring to cafes and libraries, a hot spot is a location where you can have free internet access through a wireless connection

Usage: In order to save on costs, the CEO closed our office and insisted we all work at our local Starbucks.

H is for

Hits

The number of times a web site receives a request for a piece of information.

A USELESS STATISTIC. Please remove from your vocabulary as its common use is misleading.

Usage: We had 6 Billion hits on Tuesday so we must be doing a decent job.

I is for

I-commerce

Refers to any revenue that is derived via use of the internet, including m-commerce (mobile commerce), e-commerce etc

Usage: Most brands in Australia have forgotten about I-commerce, and in turn consumers have forgotten about them.

I is for

Idea Hamster (see Time Waster)

An individual who can perpetually turn the creative wheel by coming up with digital ideas, most without any direction or ROI.

Usage: Frank from Sales came up 23 ways to make a cup of coffee online, he is a real idea hamster that guy.

I is for

Impression

An instance of an ad, page, text or graphic element being displayed. Often used as a judge of success

Usage: The campaign had 200 000 impressions resulting in 5 sales.

J is for

Javascript

A programming language used on the web, commonly to track users and create statistics, though originally entire sites were built in this language

Usage: Though a rather dull term, I couldn’t think of another word starting with J apart from Javascript.

K is for

Keyword

Used in both searches and within sites, a keyword or series of keywords describes the content in your site. Make sure that the keywords you choose are accurate as Google appreciates clarity.

Usage: The company used hidden keywords on its homepage and Google threw it out of the search results.

L is for

Landing Page

Often used with an online media buy, a landing page is a custom page on a web site specifically tailored to a particular campaign. All traffic from the media buy is directed to this page that has specific calls to action

Usage: I know of a client that spend 800K on an online media campaign but forgot to upload the landing page, so users clicked to nowhere.

L is for

Link popularity

One method by which Google determines page ranking, link popularity refers to the number of web sites that link to you.

Usage: The California District Court of Appeal suddenly had a massive increase in link popularity after the verdict in the Hilton trial was reached.

L is for

Location based advertising

A method by which a page and even an entire site, or SMS or MMS campaign, can change depending on where the user is located.

Usage: Location based advertising was of great use to the people visiting Amsterdam.

M is for

Microsite/Macrosite

Essentially meaning the same thing, they are a series of pages attached to a more general website, with a specific campaign, product or service being conveyed. Useful for integrated campaigns.

Usage: The microsite, consisting of 5 pages, managed to convert 37% of all users.

N is for

Net radio

Streaming Audio over the web. Australian brands have almost ignored this growing, measurable medium. You do not require a radio.

Usage: Now that he had his own net radio show, Peter no longer spoke at conferences.

N is for

Newsgroups

Online gathering of like minded people where they post news items in a specific area of interest. These are a brilliant way for brands to know how the public perceives their product or service without having to do consumer surveys. This also allows brands to be aware of any backlash prior to the it being in the mainstream media.

Usage: Had he paid attention to the relevant newsgroups, Hindenburg would have perhaps thought twice about lighting up in his new airship.

N is for

Nine to Five Code

Refers to any online initiative that just gets the job done rather than being interesting, effective or unique. Does not actual refer to “code”

Usage: The agency was producing nine to five code rather than exciting us.

O is for

Off the Shelf

Any software, product or service that is not customised for the purchaser, such as email marketing software, campaign management or a content management system. If it is not off the shelf, it is referred to as “bespoke.” They both have positives and negatives which you need to be aware of!

Usage: The off the shelf solution, though appearing like great value, ended up costing far more.

O is for

Ohnosecond

Ever accidentally pressed send on an email before it was finished, or sent it to the wrong person? Say no more!

Usage: The ohnosecond was brief, but fatal.

P is for

PPC

Pay per click

A convenient method whereby online publishers charge you for every time that someone clicks on your ad. Questionable methodology but is the best that is currently available.

Usage: The PPC amount was high, but the conversion rate from the PPC was high.

P is for

PFP

Pay for Performance

Some digital agencies are only charging for online media buying if the campaign meets certain performance targets. Very effective and fair.

Usage: The PFP rate was 20% to meet target, but 23% to exceed targets, and 0% if targets were not met.

Q is for

QA

Quality assurance

As the web is both a technical medium as well as a creative one, quality assurance is vital to ensure to ensure that elements actually work, such as a submission form, online media buy or landing page.

Usage: Shoot the QA person responsible.

R is for

Ramp rate

The speed at which an online campaign can be altered in size or message as results of the campaign come in at real time. Note: this is why the web can be so powerful for online campaigns!

Usage: The ramp rate was 2 hours, which meant the changes were visible on the same day.

R is for

Resolution

Sometimes referred to as screen resolution, not defining this at the start of a campaign or web site has scuppered many good creative executions. If the resolution is wrong, certain elements on a page may not be visible.

Usage: The resolution meant that any one on a Mac could not submit the form.

S is for

SEM

Search Engine Marketing

Using search engine to market a web site, whether that be through organic listings, PR article distribution, link building or paid submissions

Usage: The budget for SEM exceeded the budget for the creative by a ratio of 3 to 1.

S is for

SEO

Search engine optimisation

Changing the attributes of a web site to make it as well indexed and highly ranked as possible. There are various ways of doing this, some are fraught with danger.

Usage: The SEO program placed their site in the number 2 position and resulted in an 80% increase in traffic.

S is for

Screen Estate

The most valuable resource that you have on the web or mobiles, screen estate refers to every pixel on a display screen – each centimetre is valuable and should not be wasted.

Usage: The publishers a desperate to make money from every piece of screen estate, resulting in cluttered portals.

S is for

Specification

Like an architects plans, a specification indicates exactly how an online campaign or web site will work. If you do not have one of these before you start, maybe change architect.

Usage: There was no specification, which resulted in a site being built that did not meet expectations.

T is for

TESTING

Often a hit and miss process, that is these days refined to ensure that there are no bugs in process, build OR creative

Usage: The agency thought that offering their buddies free beer in exchange for testing seemed like a good idea at the time.

T is for

Tipping Point

The holy grail of any online presence and campaign, where the dollars invested in attracting users decreases over time while the number of users increases. When this occurs, you actually have an effective digital strategy

Usage: When the client reached tipping point, it meant that they could reduce their media spend to zero, and it also meant we were out of a job.

U is for

Unique users

The MOST IMPORTANT measurement of traffic, refers to the number of different people that see your digital presence per month.

Usage: You would expect unique users to grow by at least the same rate as the internet itself grows; anything else is a failure.

U is for

User generated content . . . in actual fact, this has been around for years, and not just on the web. Every interaction that takes place is generating content, however some of it is not visible nor commercial. Please remember, though it can be fun, exciting and great for the ego, not everyone wants to generate content, in fact MOST PEOPLE DON’T.

Usage: Though they paid 876 million for the site, so far not one cent has been made commercialising the user generated content.

V is for

Viral marketing

Similar to word of mouth advertising . . . in fact it is the same, but online and able to be tracked.

Usage: I think he meant viral marketing, not virile.

V is for

Virtual Worlds

Think a more modern Lawnmower Man, where people can create virtual personas (called avatars) and interact with other people in a digital world. Think Second Life, Bebo etc.

Hot Tip Time! Virtual Worlds are the pogo stick of the internet – kind of fun, but there is only so long that you are prepared to bounce around.

Usage: I may not be that good looking, but check me out in Second Life!

W is for

Web 2.0

Need I say more! A great way for start ups to attach themselves to the latest hot theme and get venture capital. Smart brands have been “doing 2.0” since around 1998.

Usage: We have relaunched our site with lots of 2.0 features . . . The CEO’s brother’s nephew loves it!

W is for

Wiki

A website that allows content to be aggregated collectively with communal moderation – think Wikipedia. Very useful for knowledge sharing internally

Usage: The company Wiki had all the policies and procedures clearly explained in around 600 pages.

X is for

XML

Stands for extensible markup language, which content in a page to be described and made more meaningful to content aggregators.

Usage: Again Peter was struggling, and had to use quite a technical term like XML that was of no interest to practically everybody.

Y is for

Yetties

If you haven’t heard of them you soon will. They are young, entrepreneurial twenty somethings. They are the smart, switched on consumers that we all know are out there.

Usage: Upon slightly mishearing her boss wanting to focus on the Yetties target market, Justine mistakenly created a campaign aimed at the rather small Big Foot demographic.

Z is for

Zen mail

Allowing us a moment of piece in an otherwise fast paced digital world, Zen Mail, when received, brings relaxation to the viewer, for Zen Mail is that rare mail which actually has no content in it.

Usage: I find that sending Zen Mail to myself, over the course of a day, increases my productivity.

Contact Details/Discussion

Clear Blue Day

+61 2 9011 6547peter.bray@clearblueday.com

www.digitalagency.com.au