Bandwidth
The amount of data that can be sent through a connection, measured in bits-per-second (bps.)  A full page of English text is about 16,000 bits, and a fast modem can move about 57,000 bits in one second.  Full-motion, full-screen video requires roughly 10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on the amount of data compression.

Blog
A blog (short for "Web Log") is basically a journal or personal diary that is available on the web.  Blogs are typically updated daily using content management software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain them.

Bounce rate
The percentage of web site visitors who arrive at a web site entry page, then leave without going any deeper into the site.

Broadband
Refers to a type of connection to the Internet offering much greater bandwidth than is available with a dial-up modem.  There is no specific definition of the speed of a "broadband" connection but, in general, any Internet connection using DSL or Cable-TV lines is considered a broadband connection.

Campaign Tracking
A method used to identify a visitor from pay-per-click accounts.  Campaigns in such resources as Overture and Google AdWords can be defined with a source code at the end of each URL that points to a particular web site.  This also works for banner ads, paid directories, and e-mail blasts.

Content Management System
A system used to organize and facilitate digital content.  Originally as simple as a rolodex or encyclopedia, today’s content management systems are elaborate software/database applications designed to store and process large amounts of complex information.

Conversion Tracking
A conversion occurs when a web site visitor changes from a looker into a buyer, usually by making a purchase on the site.  A conversion page is the page where the visitor lands after submitting a purchase confirmation form.  Typically, text on this page will say something like “thank you for your order”, and may provide a confirmation or order number.

Cookie
A piece of information or message sent by a web site server to a web browser, where it is stored on the local computer.  Each time someone on that computer goes back to the particular web page, the message is sent back to the server.  Depending on the type of Cookie used, and the browser’s settings, the browser may or may not accept the Cookie, and may save the Cookie for either a short time or a long time.  Cookies might contain information such as login or registration information, online "shopping cart" information, user preferences, etc.

DNS — (Domain Name System)
The Domain Name System is the system that translates Internet domain names into IP numbers.  A "DNS Server" is a server that performs this kind of translation.

Domain Name
The unique name that identifies a web site on the Internet.  Examples of domain names are www.blizzardinternet.com, www.blizzardtracker.com and newsletter.blizzardinternet.com.  Please note that Blizzard can renew your domain name for you.

DSL — (Digital Subscriber Line)
A method for moving data over regular phone lines.  A DSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, and the wires coming into the subscriber’s premises are the same (copper) wires used for regular phone service.

eCommerce Analysis
The Blizzard Tracker ROI Edition measures the performance of online marketing efforts and expenditures.  Because these statistics reveal the online revenues generated by each PPC campaign, clients using the software can accurately measure their return on advertising investments.

Fire Wall
A combination of hardware and software that functions in a networked environment to prevent some  forbidden communications / viruses.  This is similar to the basic function of a firewall in building construction.  It controls connectivity between different "zones of trust", which include the Internet (a zone with no trust) and internal networks (zones with high trust). 

FTP — (File Transfer Protocol)
A very common method of moving files on the Internet.  For example, when a Blizzard designer creates a new web site design, a copy of that design is saved on our local server.  Once the site is approved, it is uploaded to a web server for viewing on the Internet, using FTP.

GIF — (Graphic Interchange Format)
A common format for image files, especially suitable for images containing large areas of the same color.  Files of simple images in GIF format are often smaller than similar ones stored in JPEG format, but photographic quality suffers in GIF format. 

Host
A computer system on a network that contains or hosts data that is accessed by users working at a remote location.  If Blizzard is hosting your website, this means that we store the files of your website on our web server.  When someone on the Internet makes a request to access the site by typing your URL into their Internet browser, they are able to view the site on our server.

HTML — (HyperText Markup Language)
A programming language usually used to create World Wide Web documents incorporating text, graphics, sound, video, and hyperlinks.

HTTP — (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
The protocol (format) used by the World Wide Web for moving files across the Internet.  HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.

Hypertext
Generally, any text that contains links to other documents - words or phrases in the document that can be chosen by a reader which cause another document to be retrieved and displayed.  Blizzard uses hypertext links as part of SEO.

IP Address — (Internet Protocol Number)
A unique number designated to a computer or device.  The format consists of four parts, each separated by a dot.  For example:  135.119.257.3
Every device on the Internet has a unique IP address.

ISP — (Internet Service Provider)
A company that provides access to the Internet for a monthly fee.  Some nationwide ISP companies are AOL, Earthlink and NetZero.

JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web page more interactive.  When JavaScript is included in an HTML file, it relies upon the browser to interpret the JavaScript.

JPEG — (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
JPEG is most commonly mentioned as a format for image files.  JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images as opposed to line art or simple logo art.  Although it can reduce files sizes to about 5% of their normal size, some detail is lost in the compression.

Keyword Density
The percentage of relevant keywords on a web site, compared with all text on the site.  Search engines give higher ranking to a site with greater usage of the keyword phrase that a user is searching for.

Link Popularity
The number of links pointing to a web site.  Strong link popularity favorably influences organic search results.  Links from sites with high link popularity will carry greater weight with search engines than links from "unpopular" sites.  Furthermore, links from sites with related content are seen (by search engines) as more important than those from sites with little or no relevance.

Meta Tag
A specific kind of HTML tag that contains information about a web page that is not normally displayed to the user.  Unlike normal HTML tags, meta tags do not affect how the page is displayed.  Instead, they provide information such as who created the page, how often it is updated, what the page is about, and which keywords represent the page’s content.  Many search engines use this information when building their indexes and for displaying the web site’s content in search results.  You can see the meta tags for a web page if you view the page’s source code through a browser.

Modem — (MOdulator, DEModulator)
A device that connects a computer to a phone line and allows data to be transmitted.  A modem permits a computer to talk to other computers through the phone system.

Network
A network is created any time two or more computers are connected together so that they can share resources.  Connect two or more networks together and you have an internet.

Organic Search Results
These are search results provided by a search engine, collected through algorithms.  Results shown are considered FREE listings and the top placements appear due to good SEO.

Path Analysis
Blizzard Tracker allows users to view the path a visitor takes from their web site’s home page to and from any other page in the site.  This provides an excellent means for evaluating the usability, relevance and appeal of various paths through a web site.  If usage of a certain link is lower than expected, the link text or the placement on the page may need to be changed.  If visitors tend to leave the site after landing on a certain page, perhaps the content or design of that page needs work.

PDF — (Portable Document Format)
A file format designed to capture formatting information from a variety of desktop publishing applications, such as Microsoft Word, making it possible to send formatted documents that retain their appearance on the recipient’s monitor or printer.  To view a PDF file, you need Adobe Reader, a free application distributed by Adobe Systems.

PPC
A pay-per-click search engine that allows individuals (advertisers) to pay for positioning in search results.  Each time someone clicks through to the listed web site, the search engine charges the advertiser.

Router
A device that forwards data packets along networks.  A router is connected to at least two or more networks.  

RSS — (Real Simple Syndication)
A commonly used protocol for syndication and sharing of content, originally developed to facilitate the syndication of news articles, now widely used to share the contents of blogs.  There are RSS "feeds" which are sources of RSS information about web sites and RSS "readers" which read RSS feeds and display their content to users.

SEO — (Search Engine Optimization)
The practice of designing web pages so that they rank as high as possible in search results from search engines.  Among other things, this involves making sure the website contains truly useful information, including accurate information in meta tags, and arranging for other web sites to make links to the site.

Spam (or Spamming)
Unsolicited e-mail advertising for a product sent to a mailing list, or the sending thereof.  Spam is also defined as electronic junk mail.

Spider
An automated software program that scans web sites to gather data for search engines.  Once gathered, the data is processed and indexed to be stored in the search engine’s database.

Spyware
Software that gathers user information through the user’s Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes.  Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet.  Not all shareware and freeware applications come with spyware.  Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else.  Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.

Trojan Horse
A destructive program which is either hidden inside another program or masquerades as something it is not in order to trick potential users into running it.  Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not infect other programs, but they can be just as destructive.  One type of Trojan horse is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses onto your computer

URL — (Uniform Resource Locator)
The global address of web sites or resources on the world wide web.

Virus
A piece of computer programming code that can unwittingly be loaded onto and run on a computer.  Viruses can replicate themselves, display messages, install other software or files, delete software files, etc.  All viruses are man-made.  Even a simple virus can be dangerous because it may quickly use all available computer memory and bring the system to a halt.  An even more dangerous type of virus is one capable of transmitting itself across networks and bypassing security systems.

Web Browser
The application or software used to view Internet resources.  Most people use Internet Explorer (IE) or Netscape Navigator.  Firefox is becoming very popular these days, offering faster viewing and better spyware protection.

Web Server
A computer that delivers web pages to an Internet browser.  Every web server has an IP address and possibly a domain name.  For example, if you enter the URL www.blizzardinternet.com/index.html in your browser, a request is sent to the server whose domain name is blizzardinternet.com.  The server then fetches the page named index.html and sends it to your browser.

Wi-Fi — (Wireless Fidelity)
A popular term for a form of wireless data communication.  Put simply, Wi-Fi is "Wireless Ethernet".

Worm
A worm is a virus that does not infect other programs, but makes copies of itself and infects additional computers, typically by making use of network connections.  It does not attach itself to additional programs.  A worm might alter, install, or destroy files and programs in a computer, as well as using up the computer’s resources and possibly shut down the system.

WWW — (World Wide Web)
World Wide Web (or "web" for short) is a system of Internet servers that supports specially formatted documents.  The documents are formatted in a markup language called HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as graphics, audio, and video files.