PPC Blog by Gordon Choi

301 Permanent Redirect
A permanent server redirect in which a change of URL for a web page that is found in the htaccess file on Apache server. 301 redirect is the most efficient and safest method for web page redirection that allows you to preserve your search engine rankings for a particular page. Use 301 redirect if you have to:
* Rewrite URLs of your web pages
* Deal with canonical URL issues

A/B Split Testing
The performance of different versions of a web page is being tested usually through PPC campaigns or email marketing campaigns.

Adwords
The most powerful and effective paid search platform/program to-date that allows advertisers to place both keyword-based and site-based text/image/video ads alongside Google’s organic search results, Google’s search partner sites, and Google’s content network of sites.

BBS
Bulletin Board System – An online forum platform that is extremely popular among China’s Internet users.

CPC
Cost per click

CPA
Cost per action (or acquisition)

CPM
Cost per thousand impressions

CTR
Click through rate – The total number of clicks over the total number of impressions within a specific period of time.

Google Webmaster Tools
A platform provided by Google that allows webmasters to manage the indexing of their web sites. It also provides sitemap submission, site statistics and diagnostics.

Impression
The metric that measures the number of times an ad is being displayed to the target audience.

Inbound Link
External link of a site that points to that site from another web site. Inbound link is also known as backlink.

Index
A component of search engines that is used to store web pages and all other details relevant to the pages.

Keyword
Keywords are search terms or phrases that users type in to perform searches on search engines.

Keyword Research
The discovery of keywords or search terms that search engine users will be using to find your web sites. Keyword research is an essential step before SEO or PPC campaigns are set up.

Keyword CPC
Cost per click of a keyword

Landing Page
Landing page is the very first web page that a user arrives at your website, regardless of which referral sites the user is from.

Live.com
The official search engine that was launched by Microsoft.

Microsoft Adcenter
Microsoft’s paid search program/platform that allows advertisers to place text ads on Microsoft’s search and content sites.

PPA
Pay per action

PPC
Pay per click or paid search – An advertising model that allows advertisers to sell text ads (or sponsored links) alongside organic search results through search engines. Currently, the 3 major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN) are supporting this advertising model through their paid search platforms (Adwords, YSM, and Adcenter).

Redirect
A file on the server indicating that the requested page has been moved to another location either permanently (301 redirect) or temporarily (302 redirect).

ROI
Return on investment

SEM
Search Engine Marketing – A technique that involves both search engine optimization and paid search marketing to promote a web site or a brand through search engines.

SEO
Search Engine Optimization – A technique that improves ranking of web pages in search engine result pages. This involves the improvement of a site’s on-page SEO factors such site structure, content, meta tags and more. It also includes the enhancement of a site’s off-page SEO factor like inbound link building and anchor text.

SERP
Search engine result pages

SMM
Social Media Marketing – An Internet marketing technique that sites or brands are promoted through social media. Social media channels include blogs, social bookmarking, news aggregating and rating sites, video aggregators, social networking sites.

Social Network Site
A web site that allows users to interact, communicate and network in real-time. Examples of social network sites are Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn.

URL
Uniform resource locator or web address

Yahoo Search Marketing (Panama)
Yahoo’s paid search platform/program that allows advertisers to place keyword-based text ads alongside Yahoo’s organic search results and partner network sites.