A method of testing which aims to determine the ‘best’ of two aspects. For example, it is common to split test two landing pages for a given PPC campaign to see which of the two converts better. Alternatively you could split test two ads to see which performs better.

Refers to the positioning of collateral on a web page – ‘above the fold’ refers to any collateral which can be seen without scrolling down the page. ‘Below the fold’ refers to anything which you have to scroll down to view.

AdSense is run by Google – it matches ads to the website publisher’s content, and they earn money whenever their visitors click the ads. For more information see http://www.google.com/adsense/login/en_GB/

Adwords is Google’s paid search advertising programme. For more information see https://adwords.google.co.uk/

Affiliate marketing is essentially a revenue share deal. Affiliates will display your ads for free, but will receive a percentage of the revenue which you receive as a result of direct sales from their referrals.

An online ad which is typically 468 x 60 pixels. See the Internet Advertising Bureau website for further information on ad unit guidelines http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/1421/1443/1452

See Also: Button Ad, Beyond the Banner

An ad which is not a banner or button e.g. Pop Up or Pop Under. See the Internet Advertising Bureau website for further information on ad unit guidelines http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/1421/1443/1452

See Also: Banner ad, Button Ad

An online ad which is typically 125 x 125 pixels. See the Internet Advertising Bureau website for further information on ad unit guidelines http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/1421/1443/1452

See Also: Banner Ad, Beyond the Banner

The buying cycle is a theoretical illustration of how people decide on a particular purchase. Commonly the stages are referred to as follows: identify need, search, evaluate, decide, purchase, feedback. The theory behind it is, that if you can identify where people are in the buying cycle, you will be able to target them more appropriately and ultimately achieve more conversions.

Marketing / Advertising term pertaining to copy which encourages a consumer to engage in a course of within an ad. Typical calls to action include sign up now, call today, click here etc.

An ad which allows the user to view additional information without leaving the page they were originally viewing. Typically the additional content appears beneath the original ad. Also known as click-within ad.

See Also: Click-Within Ad

An ad which allows the user to view additional information without leaving the page they were originally viewing. Typically the additional content appears beneath the original ad. Also known as click-down ad.

See Also: Click Down Ad

An ad which is displayed in a separate window which relates to a banner which is currently being displayed on a web site. Ordinarily the banner will appear first, then a couple of seconds later, the daughter window will appear.

A banner ad expands when a user clicks on it / or if they move their cursor over it

An ad which is displayed on top of the web site’s content, thereby appearing to ‘float’ over the top of the page.

Google Adsense offers web site owners the opportunity to earn revenue by placing ads which are targeted their site and content. When a web site owner signs up with Adsense they become part of the Google Content Network.

Refers to a media booking (either on or offline). Typically the insertion order will include details of where your ad(s) will be placed, pricing and so on.

In web terms, inventory refers to the advertising space which is available for sale on a specific site.

PPA goes one step further than PPC – rather than paying when someone clicks your ad, you only pay when someone goes on to complete a predefined action (or conversion) on your site.

See Also: Pay Per Click (PPC)

Traditional media pricing models were based on reach – e.g. offline this may be readers (in the case of newspapers or magazines) and online this was based on impressions or views of a given web page. PPC differs from this model in that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad rather than simply viewing it.

A web page (often an advert) which appears in a separate window behind the current active window. The ad can therefore only be seen when the active window is moved, closed or resized.

A web page (often an advert) which appears in a smaller window on top of the current active window.

The number of people who might view a particular type of media e.g. a magazine, newspaper, TV ad, or online ad.

Typically refers to low-quality advertising space which is deemed undesirable by advertisers.

Refers to online advertising which appears across the site rather than the units being sold on individual pages or areas of the site.

An industry standard sized banner with the following dimensions: 120 pixels (wide) x 600 pixel (high). The following other ad types also come under the Skyscraper banner – Wide Skyscraper 160 x 600 & Half Page 300 x 600.

An advert which is comprised purely of text rather than images, video etc.

Advertising jargon – as opposed to meaning everyone it refers to the total target market.