400 Bad Request Error
400 is the “Bad Request” error message delivered to your browser by a web server when the request could not be understood by the server. This is most commonly caused by a problem within the web script you are using.…
401 Unauthorized Error
401 is the “Unauthorized” error message delivered to your browser by a web server when you do not have the required privileges to access a file. This is most commonly caused by an invalid username and/or password.…
403 Forbidden Error
403 is the “Forbidden” error message delivered to your browser by a web server when you reach a page that you do not have permission to access.…
404 Page Not Found Error
404 is the “Page Not Found” error message delivered to your browser by a web server when the file you are attempting to reach does not exist. This if often caused by a misspelling or typo of the URL, or because the original file has been renamed or removed from …
500 Internal Server Error
500 is the “Internal Server” error message delivered to your browser by a web server when the server encountered an unexpected problem preventing it from serving the URL you requested. This is often caused by a script that contains errors within the code.…
501 Method Not Implemented Error
501 is the “Method Not Implemented” error message delivered to your browser by a web server when the server does not support the resource being requested.…
503 Service Unavailable Error
503 is the “Service Unavailable” error message delivered to your browser by a web server when the server takes too long to respond and the request times out. Among other possible reasons, this is often caused by the server being temporarily overloaded.…
ACPA (Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act)
The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (also known as Truth in Domain Names Act), is a United States federal law enacted in 1999, making it illegal to register and misuse trademarked names. It makes anyone who registers domain names that are either trademarks or individual’s names with the sole intent of …
Ad Server
An Ad Server is a computer program or server that is used to store, display and track advertisements via the Internet. Among other purposes, an ad server may be used by a publisher who delivers advertisements for another company, or by an advertiser who wants to accurately track the advertisements …
Administrative Contact
In the world of domain names, the Administrative Contact is the representative authorized to interact with the registrar to manage the domain name. Management functions include updates to whois contact information and name servers. Other contacts assigned to a domain name’s whois record can include Registrant, Billing Contact and Technical …
AdSense
AdSense is a popular ad serving program run by Google. Third parties pay Google to advertise their website URL, then website owners join AdSense in order to deliver those same URLs via text or image advertisements on their website. Google distributes the ads to websites with matching content, thus creating …
Adwords
Adwords is a pay-per-click (PPC) program provided by Google. After joining Adwords, advertisers upload their text and/or image ads, specify applicable keywords, and select an amount they are willing to pay. The advertisements can either show up in Google’s search results or on a publisher’s website that is enrolled in …
Affiliate Link
An affiliate link is provided to website owners by other companies who wish to market their products or services. The link contains specific information that tracks the impression, click, and possible sale generated from the originating website. The company then pays the website owner for impressions, clicks, or actions generated …
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Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the method in which an individual makes money primarily through displaying text or image links on their website or in emails. Any time an end user takes an action such as clicking on the link or purchasing the product or service they are paid by the advertiser. …
Affiliate networks
An affiliate network is a company that manages a network of affiliate programs and acts as an intermediary between publishers and merchants. Generally speaking, web site publishers join an affiliate network for free, and then select specific programs to promote on their web site. Affiliate networks are beneficial to publishers …
Affiliate Sites
An affiliate site refers to a web site that earns revenue by placing advertising links and advertisements obtained from affiliate programs or affiliate networks. Affiliate revenue can be earned per impression, per click, but most often per action such as when the end user places an order.…
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AGP (Add Grace Period)
AGP is the acronym for Add Grace Period and refers to the 5 days after the initial registration of a domain name at which time a registrar used to be able to cancel any registration without incurring an expense. The AGP was initially put in place to protect registrars from …
AREC (A-Record)
A-Record is the term used for “Address Records” in DNS. The A-Record maps a hostname (or domain name) to its numeric IP address and is handled at the name server on which your domain name resides. For example, the A record might map the domain google.com to 209.85.171.99 (one of …
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
ASCII is the acronym for “American Standard Code for Information Interchange” although this description is rarely used. ASCII is more commonly known, as the character encoding based on the English alphabet.…
ASP (Application Service Provider)
ASP is the acronym for “Application Service Provider” and refers to any business that provides computer applications that are run from its servers as opposed to being run on the end user’s computer.…
Authentication
Authentication is the process by which an individual, company or computer code is validated and in turn confirmed as someone or something that can be trusted.…
Auto-Responders
An auto-responder is an application which sends an automated email response to any (or specific) incoming emails.
These can be setup on the mail server, or on the user’s local computer (via programs such as Outlook). Autoresponders are most commonly used in business to alert senders that the recipient is …
Avatar
An avatar is a thumbnail sized picture used in forums or computer games to represent an individual user. Avatars are often drawings, photographs, or computer graphics, and can range from a company logo, to a comical image.…
Back-links
Back-links, also called inbound links, includes any link on the Internet that points to any page within your web site.
The number of backlinks that a particular web site has pointing to it tends to be indicative of its popularity on the Internet. Many search engines view back-links as a …
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Back-Order
A back-order, also referred to as a domain backorder, refers to the process of placing an order to register a domain name once it has expired and is in the process of being dropped from its current registrar.
Users wishing to backorder a domain name must use a service that …
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Backbone
On the Internet, a backbone refers to the network of connections between routes that carry data throughout the world. In layman terms, these are the network connections that power the Internet.…
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Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the capacity for an Internet connection to transfer data. Bandwidth is measured as a bit rate and expressed as bits/s (bits per second) or Kbits/s (kilobits per second). Bandwidth is often confused with Disk or Data Transfer which is the “amount” of data transferred.…
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Billing Contact
The billing contact listed on a domain name whois record is the individual or organization responsible for paying the registrar and/or registry fees. Other contacts include Registrant, Administrative contact, and Technical contact. Just because you pay the bill doesn’t mean you have rights to a domain, so in most cases …
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Black-Hat SEO
Black-hat search engine optimization is also referred to as Spamdexing. This describes tactics sometimes used to get search engines to rank a page or site higher in results for specific keywords. Common methods of Black-hat SEO involve repeating keywords or phrases, and are seen as ‘trickery’ by the leading search …
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Black-Listed
Black-listed is the term used to describe a domain name, IP address, URL or email address that is blocked or banned from accessing a specific location on the Internet. Blacklists are most commonly used within software, databases, web-sites, and servers. Anyone who misuses a service can be blacklisted (such as …
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Blogs
Blog originates from the term “Web Log” and refers to a website which posts regular entries of information, much like a journal or diary. There are many different types of blogs, including individuals posting their daily life, news sites reporting on happenings in any given industry, and corporations announcing company …
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Browser
A browser or “web browser” is the program used to view pages in the Internet. Currently the most common browsers are Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox although there are several other programs available.…
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Cache
On the Internet, cache is the term used for the space on your computer where your browser stores previously visited web pages and other files, allowing quick access when you return to those pages. Configuration of your cache can be controlled via the settings option in your browser.…
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Case-Sensitive
Case Sensitive describes a computer program that differentiates between upper (capital) and lower case letters. For example, a case sensitive script sees “a” as a different character to “A”. In the world of hosting, this is most apparent when using UNIX web servers (which are predominantly case-sensitive) as opposed to …
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ccSLD (Country Code Second Level Domain)
ccSLD is the abbreviation for “Country Code Second Level Domain” and refers to a domain extension with an additional prefix in front of the ccTLD. For example, .uk is a ccTLD and .co.uk is the ccSLD, (although due its popularity it is often incorrectly referred to as a ccTLD! Confused …
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ccTLD (Country Code Top Level Domain)
ccTLD is the abbreviation for “Country Code Top Level Domain” and refers to the two letter domain extension used by any given country or territory. For example, the ccTLD for Australia is .au, the ccTLD for Hong Kong is .hk, etc. Although the ccTLD is often a direct abbreviation of …
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Cease and Desist Letters
In the context of domaining, a cease and desist letter is a document delivered to a domain owner explaining why the sender feels that the domain infringes on their rights, and demanding that they stop using the domain name in the current format. Such letters are most commonly sent by …
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Click-Through
The term click-through is used to describe when an Internet user clicks on a link and lands on the subsequent page. See PPC (pay-per-click) and CTR (click-through rate) for related glossary terms.…
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CMS (Content Management Systems)
A content management system is an application used to create, edit and publish content using a back-end interface that allows the user to manage the content in an organized way. CMS programs generally tie in with a database, utilize version control to view data prior to any specific update, and …
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CNAME (Canonical Name Record)
A CNAME record is the acronym for “Canonical Name Record”. A CNAME maps (or aliases) a web address to its canonical name, and is handled at the name server on which your domain name resides. When you access a web address and the web server finds a CNAME record, it …
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Control Panels
A control panel in the domain and hosting industry refers to the interface provided to the users for common administrative duties. For example, your control panel is the place you would go to manage your domain names, update contact info, renew services, set up email accounts, change passwords, etc.…
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Cookies
Cookies, also known as “Web Cookies” or “HTTP Cookies” refer to a small amount of text sent by a web server to an Internet user’s browser and then back again when the web server requests it. Cookies can contain information about which pages a user has visited on that particular …
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CTR (Click-Through-Rate)
CTR is the acronym for “Click Through Rate” or sometimes “Click Through Ratio”. In both cases it refers to the percentage of times a link is displayed (by the publisher) compared to the amount of times it is clicked (by an end user). For example, if a link or ad …
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Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting refers to the act of knowingly managing a domain name that matches or is confusingly similar to a known trademark. The term cybersquatter refers to the individual or organization that engages in cybersquatting. Some cyber-squatters also offer the domain name for sale to the trademark holder, in most cases …
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Domain Hijacking
Domain hijacking is the illegal practice of gaining control over a domain name from its rightful owner without paying for it. This is often accomplished by deciphering (insecure) passwords, or by gaining illegal use of a registrant’s email service and then accessing the user’s domain account. Whatever method is used …
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Data Transfer
Data transfer refers to the amount of data sent across an Internet connection over a given time period.…
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Databases
A database is a data structure used to store information in an organized fashion and with the ability to retrieve information upon request. Original databases are known as “Flat Databases” with limited functionality, while nowadays, databases are much more complex known as “Relational Databases” which allow users to manage information …
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Direct Traffic
Direct traffic, also known as “Direct Navigation”, also known as “Type-In Traffic” refers to users who type a web address directly into the browser URL bar bypassing search engines or any other Internet links. If you watch new Internet users (newbies) navigating on the web, it’s interesting to see that …
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Disk Space
Disk space refers to the amount of storage you are allocated on the web server or mail server to store your website, files, and emails. Disk space is measured in MB (Megabytes) or even TB (Terabytes). For example, Matt’s hosting account gives him 100MB of disk space, while Kevin has …
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Disk Transfer
Disk transfer is the amount of data transferred back and forth within a specific period of time. Your hosting plan incurs data transfer every time a visitor views your website, every time you upload or download a file to your FTP account, every time someone submits your form, and so …
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DNS (Domain Name System)
DNS is the acronym used for Domain Name System. DNS refers to the naming system invented in 1983 and used by computers, networks, and other Internet connected services to translate otherwise complicated strings of numbers (IP addresses) into easy to remember addresses (domain names). When you visit a website, a …
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Domain Auctions
Domain auctions are the sale of a domain name in an auction style format, with the highest bidder purchasing the domain. Most often, the term domain auctions refers to the high-profile, premium domain auctions that feature generic, high-traffic, high-valued domain names. These auctions are offered on an ongoing basis by …
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Domain Broker
A Domain broker is an individual or company who helps people to either buy or sell a domain name by handling the negotiations on their behalf. Domain brokers charge different amounts for this service, most commonly as a percentage of the final price of the domain. A good domain broker …
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Domain Extension
Domain extension is another name for TLD (Top Level Domain) or the suffix that follows your address. For example, in the domain name iGoldrush.com, the domain extension is .com which is pronounced “dot com”.…
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Domain Kiting
Domain Kiting refers to the process of registering a domain name, deleting it within the 5-day add grace period (AGP), then immediately registering it again for another 5-day period. This cycle can be repeated over and over, resulting in the registrant owning the domain name without actually paying for it. …
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Domain Name
A domain name is a series of characters that resolve (through the DNS) to an IP address. A domain name generally consists of a word, followed by a dot (.), followed by a TLD (like “com”), for example, “iGoldrush.com”. It is interesting to note that regardless of the server on …
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Domain Name Affiliate
A Domain name affiliate is an individual or company that displays links on their websites or emails that direct users to a domain name registrar or reseller site. The affiliate collects a commission any time a user takes an action, usually by placing a domain registration, but sometimes if the …
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Domain Name Aftermarket
The domain name aftermarket refers to the buying or selling of currently registered domains. Domains sold in the aftermarket are often sold in an auction format, with the highest bidder taking control of the domain. For buyers, the main advantage of the aftermarket is the potential to purchase domain names …
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Domain Name Registrant
The Domain Name Registrant is the individual or organization that has registered a domain name. According to most domain name policies and agreements, regardless of other contacts that may be associated with a domain name, the registrant has the final say with regards to a particular domain.…
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Domain Name Registrar
A domain name registrar refers to a company that has the right to register and manage domain names on behalf of registrants for any given domain registry. There are many registries around the world, handling the 100′s of different TLDs (domain extensions). Despite common misconceptions, although a company must be …
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Domain Name Registration
Domain Name Registration describes the act of reserving the right to use a domain name for a specified amount of time, usually a period of 1, 2, 5 or 10 years. A domain name is registered using a domain name registrar or reseller of a registrar.…
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Domain Name Registry
A domain name registry is an organization that maintains control over a specific TLD (domain extension). For example, Verisign is the registry that manages the popular .com and .net TLDs, as well as several other domain extensions. deNIC is the registry that manages the country code domain .de used in …
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Domain Name Reseller
A domain name reseller is a company that manages domain names on behalf of their customers (registrants) through a registrar’s system. The registrar generally provides the reseller with a wholesale rate for domains and other services, as well as a management interface to service their customers. Some registrar’s reseller programs …
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Domain Parking
In general terms, domain parking is the practice of directing a domain name to a single dynamic web page which then delivers targeted content and links related to a specific keyword (usually the domain name itself). When a visitor lands on the parked domain, clicks on any of the links, …
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Domain Parking Companies
Parking Companies are companies that operate web sites where domain owners can “park” their un-used domain names. To park a domain name, you simply point the domain name’s DNS to the parking company’s DNS servers. Parking companies then most commonly deliver a dynamic web page through an automated process that …
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Domain Tasting
Domain tasting refers to the practice of purchasing an available domain name and ‘tasting’ or testing the domain during the 5-day add grace period (AGP) in order to determine the domain’s profitability and marketability. If a domain is deemed profitable, it is kept in the registrant’s portfolio. If it is …
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Domainer
A Domainer is a relatively new term used to describe someone who makes money by registering, buying, selling, leasing, parking, or through any other means of monetizing domain names.…
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Download
Download is the term used to describe the act of retrieving a file from a computer server through a network (i.e. the Internet). For example, you download a file when you request a document or media file from a web site, and you also download a file simply by visiting …
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Drop Catching
Drop catching refers to the practice of instantly registering a domain name after the expired domain has been deleted by the registry and released to the general public. While drop catching can be done manually, there are many companies that offer automated drop catching services, giving you a better chance …
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Drop Lists
Drop lists are comprehensive lists of domain names that will soon be deleted by any given domain name registry. These lists are often used by domainers looking to utilize a drop-catching or back-ordering service to instantly register the domain after it has been deleted and released.…
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Dropped Domain
A dropped domain is a domain name that was not renewed by the prior registrant and has expired and since been released to the available pool. A dropped domain is not to be confused with an expired domain which may still be renewed by the current registrant during the registry …
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Dynamic Content
Dynamic content refers to web site content that changes based on the user or the server or other input to create a more targeted or interactive experience. For example, a web page may deliver content specific to the country or city that you are located, or deliver content based on …
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Dynamic IP Address
A dynamic IP address refers to an IP address that will change after a session ends, or other specific time-frame. The converse of a dynamic IP address is a static IP address which is also covered in this glossary.…
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Ecommerce
Ecommerce is short for Electronic Commerce and refers to buying and selling of products and services using the Internet.…
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Email or Electronic Mail refers to the messages sent and received over the Internet via mail servers. You knew that!…
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Email Address
An email address, much like a telephone number or postal address is a unique identifier that tells the mail servers where to deliver messages over the Internet.…
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Email Forwarding
Email forwarding is the process in which one email address is redirected to a different email address. The first email address is often known as an alias to the second email address. The benefit of Email forwarding is that you may have 20 email addresses, all forwarded to a single …
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EPC (Earnings-Per-Click)
EPC or Earnings per click is the average amount of money earned by each click over a specific time period or a specific number of clicks. For example, if you post an ad on a web page and one out of every ten people who click the ad purchase a …
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Escrow Services
An escrow service refers to a company that facilitates a secure transaction between buyer and seller. In the domain world, an escrow service will first request payment from the buyer. When they have received the funds they will then instruct the seller to transfer the domain to the buyer. As …
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Expired Domain
Expired domain names are ones that were not renewed prior to the expiration date. Registrar terms differ with regards to when and how an expired domain name is handled, so it would be wise to check with your registrar to understand your obligations and rights.…
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Forum
A forum, also called a message board or discussion board, is a web site where users participate in online discussions with other users. The majority of forums focus on a niche topic, allowing participants to ask and answer questions or engage in discussions on a particular subject.…
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FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP is the acronym for File Transfer Protocol and refers to the method in which people commonly use to transfer files between their local computer and the web server. The most common use for FTP is for uploading web page files to and from your hosting provider, but there are also people who use FTP to distribute files within their organization or to and from other organizations.
gTLD (Generic Top Level Domain)
gTLD is the acronym for Generic Top Level Domain and generally refers to the group of TLDs or domain extensions that are not assigned to a specific region of the world. gTLDs include .com, .net, .org, .info
Hits
A Hit is the term that refers to the number of times a web page or file is displayed. For example, “My homepage got 3 million hits this month”. Hey – positive thinking never hurt anybody! Just to confuse matters, some refer to hits as the total impressions of all …
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Home Page
The home page is the page seen by visitors to your web site when they type your domain name in their browser and don’t specify a page. A home page is typically named index.html or home.html although it can be anything, depending on your site and/or server configuration.…
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
HTML is the acronym for Hypertext Markup Language and it refers to the authoring code used to create documents on the World Wide Web. HTML defines the look of a web page and the elements within it through various tags and commands that are surrounded by angle brackets . HTML …
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HTML Editor
An HTML editor is a software program that is used to create and edit HTML pages. Many HTML editors also provide a graphical interface so that the user can make updates in a visual manner, and the HTML editor creates the required code for them.…
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HTTP (Hyper-Text Protocol)
HTTP is the acronym for Hyper-Text Protocol and in layman terms refers to the communication between your browser and web server. HTTP was first used to request and display linked text documents which eventually led to the creation of the World Wide Web.…
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Hyperlinks
A hyperlink, also simply known as a link, is a snippet of code that enables an Internet user to click on an element (such as a word or picture) and for that action to open up a web page or other element.…
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IANA
IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) operating under ICANN, oversees the assignment of IP addresses to Internet Service Providers. In addition, IANA oversees root zone management for DNS and other internet protocol assignments. IANA previously operated under contract of the US Government, but is now operated under ICANN, the Internet Corporation …
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ICANN
ICANN (Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers) is a non-profit organization created to oversee global internet related tasks that were previously managed by IANA, under contract from the US Government. ICANN is primarily responsible for managing the Internet’s top level domains (TLD’s), overseeing the allocation of IP addresses and …
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IDN (Internationalized Domain Names)
IDN is the acronym for Internationalized Domain Names and refers to a domain name that contains one or more non ASCII characters. These domain names have the ability to use characters from non-English languages such as Chinese or Arabic. Because traditional domain names do not allow for use of these …
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IP Address
An IP Address, or Internet Protocol Address, is a unique, numerical address that is assigned to each device on a network that is connected to the Internet. Domain names are mapped to a specific IP Address, which then tells the location of that web site on the Internet. An example …
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Landing Page
A landing page is the web page that a visitor arrives on after they click an advertising link. Often, landing pages are an optimized extension of an ad, giving the visitor more targeted, in-depth information. The most important feature of a landing page, however, is to direct visitors through a …
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Link Farm
A link farm is a web site that posts links to any and all web sites that submit for inclusion, generally through an automated form or program. Link farms are generally used by those looking to artificially boost their link popularity and search engines rankings. However, most search engines frown …
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Long-Tail Domain Names
A long-tail domain name refers to a domain name full of keywords that are targeted to your topic or niche, generally separated with hyphens. The idea of long-tail domain names is that you are better able to compete and profit with your web site by utilizing these more targeted or …
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Mail Server
A mail server is a computer on the Internet that holds, manages, and distributes email communication using Internet protocols such as POP, SMTP, and IMAP. For example, when you receive email messages, the mail server retrieves them and routes them to your email account using POP (Post Office Protocol). When …
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MX Record
An MX record (Mail Exchange Record) is a DNS record that designates where the email for a particular domain name is sent, by identifying the mail server and routing email messages to the correct server. A domain name can have more than one MX record associated with it. When this …
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New TLDs
A new TLD is the term used in the domain industry to describe any of the TLDs (Top Level Domains or Domain Extensions) that ICANN launched or will launch after their original set of gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, .mil, .edu, .gov). 2009 is a pinnacle year where ICANN is expected …
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Newbie
The term newbie generally refers to an individual that is new to the Internet. We were all newbies at some point so keep that in mind next time you’re helping your Aunt Ethel navigate around her favorite quilting web site!…
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Name-Server (or Nameserver)
A name server manages DNS for any given domain name, to include A Records, CNAMEs, MX records and other domain name related mapping services. In a nutshell, the name server responds to computer requests with regards to where it can find services related to a given domain name.…
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Nameprep
Nameprep is the process by which the letters in an IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) are changed to lower case as well as other code cleanup. This process is also known as Unicode normalization and it’s all fascinating stuff. …
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Overture Tool
The Overture tool, although no longer in active use, is still discussed today which is why it remains in this glossary. The Overture Keyword Tool was a system provided by Yahoo to tell a user how many times a specific keyword or key-phrase was searched for in the Yahoo directory.
PPA (Pay-Per-Action)
PPA is the acronym for Pay Per Action, also known as Pay Per Acquisition. PPA refers to the advertising process by which an advertiser pays the publisher every time a visitor takes a pre-determined action, such as buying a product or service, or submitting a form. This is not to …
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PPC (Pay-Per-Click)
PPC is the acronym for Pay Per Click, which refers to the advertising process by which an advertiser pays the publisher every time a visitor clicks on the advertiser’s link. This is not to be confused with PPA (Pay Per Action) where the advertiser only gets paid if the visitor …
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Punycode
Punycode is the encoding syntax used to translate a Unicode string into an ASCII string (and vice versa) for the purpose of managing Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).…
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Reverse Domain Hijacking
Reverse domain name hijacking is the term used for when an individual or (more commonly) an organization abuses the legal system in order to take ownership of a domain name from another registrant.
Among other possible scenarios, they will file a UDRP complaint in the hopes of gaining ownership of …
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Registrant
A registrant is the individual or organization to which a domain name is registered. Other terms used for registrant are licensee or Registered Name Holder. Although the administrative and technical contacts on a domain name record may have certain privileges, it is the registrant who has the final decision on …
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Reciprocal Links
A reciprocal link, also known as a link exchange, takes place between two web site publishers who mutually agree to exchange links between their web sites. Each web site publisher posts a link on their web site recommending the other publisher’s web site, thereby reciprocating one another. Reciprocal links are …
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Redemption Period
In the world of domain names, the redemption period is the 30 day period that occurs after a registrar cancels a domain name at the registry (most commonly due to non-renewal). During this 30 day redemption period, the registry keeps a hold on the domain name and the original registrant …
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RFC
RFC (Request for Comments) is a series of documents containing research and notes about the workings of the Internet published by the Internet Engineering Task Force. Engineers and computer scientists publish ideas and information through the RFC format and if an RFC gains enough interest, the IETF may adopt it …
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Round Robin DNS
Round robin DNS is the term used for load balancing DNS responses by having multiple name servers with identical information so that traffic flows evenly between multiple IP addresses thus increasing the response speed and preventing one server from being overloaded.…
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RPC (Revenue-Per-Click)
RPC is the acronym for Revenue Per Click, also known as EPC or Earnings Per Click. RPC refers to the average revenue generated from user clicks on a specific advertisement. For example, if 1000 people click on an ad, and 30 people make a purchase and generate total revenue of …
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RPM (Revenue-Per-Thousand)
RPM is the acronym for Revenue Per Thousand, and refers to the average revenue generated for every thousand times an advertisement is displayed. For example, if an advertisement is displayed 3000 times (3000 impressions) and results in $30 in sales, the ad is said to have an RPM of $10. …
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Search Engine (SE)
A Search engine is a website that collects information from other web sites and can respond with relevant web sites when a user searches for a specific request. For example, when a user searches for information on “How cold is the Arctic?”, the search engine reviews its database of websites …
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SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, and refers to the process of making a web page or web site more attractive to search engines so that they appear higher in the list of results when users search for a specific keyword or phrase. The advantages of having your …
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SLD (Second-Level-Domain)
A second level domain refers to the characters immediately to the left of the main domain extension (TLD). This term is rarely used except when the speaker wants to differentiate between the TLD and SLD. For example, in iGoldrush.com, iGoldrush is the SLD and .com is the TLD.…
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Social Bookmarks
Social bookmarking web sites allow you to bookmark your favorite web sites directly on the Internet instead of on your computer. When you bookmark a web site, you can also organize it, “tag” it (i.e. assign a keyword to it), and share it with others on the network. There are …
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Social Networks
A social network is a web site made up of individuals grouped together by common interests. Social networks work by linking individuals together on the network. Individuals then expand their network by meeting others through those currently linked to them or through various interest groups on the broader network. Popular …
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Spam
Traditionally, spam refers to unsolicited commercial email, such as an advertisement for something you didn’t request to be notified about. However, more recently, the word spam is used to describe any email that you don’t want to receive, such as the daily dose of poor jokes from some character you …
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Split-Testing
Split-testing, also called multivariate testing or A/B testing, refers to the process of testing two separate landing pages in order to increase conversions. Split-testing generally works by splitting your web site traffic 50/50 between each of the two landing pages in order to gauge the results of each. Split-testing can …
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Static Content or Page
Static content or a static web page refers to a web page that always delivers the same information to all users. Conversely, dynamic content can change depending on any number of attributes such as the time of day, visitor’s location, past transactions, etc.…
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Static IP Address
A static IP address is an IP address that is unique to the host or user and does not change. Most web sites point to a static IP address so that the domain name does not need to be constantly updated in the name servers each time the IP changes.…
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sTLD (Sponsored Top-Level Domains)
sTLD is the acronym used for Sponsored Top-Level Domains and refers to any TLD that has a sponsoring organization behind it who can select the registry to maintain the extension (otherwise ICANN will select the registry). Policies applied to the registry (and in turn the registrars and registrants) are made …
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Sub-Domain
A Sub-Domain (sometimes known as a Child Domain) refers to when an additional prefix is added to an existing domain name and separated by a period. For example, “forums.igoldrush.com”, is a sub-domain of “igoldrush.com”. Although most people don’t think of it in this way, www is the most common sub-domain …
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Technical Contact
The technical contact on a domain name whois record is the individual or organization responsible for any technical aspects with regard to the domain name. Many providers list themselves as the technical contact while listing the customer as the registrant and administrative contact.…
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Text Editor
A text editor is an application or program used for editing text files without inserting invisible code commonly found in other types of word processors. Text editors are often used to edit html or other scripting languages. Many text editors have spell checks, sorting functions, character and code sets, as …
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TLD (Top-Level-Domain)
TLD is the acronym for Top Level Domain and refers to the suffix at the very end of a domain name, after the last period (or dot). For example, using iGoldrush.com, the TLD is com, or for iGoldrush.co.uk, the TLD is uk. There are multiple types of TLDs, all of …
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Trademark Infringement
Trademark infringement refers to a domain name that contains an already existing commercial name or trademark. Before registering a domain name, it’s useful to check the USPTO’s (United States Patent and Trademark Office) web site http://www.uspto.gov and click on Trademark Search to confirm that you are not registering a trademarked …
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Type-In Traffic
Type-In traffic, also known as “Direct Traffic” or “Direct Navigation” refers to users who type a URL directly into the browser address bar as oppose to using a search engine or other Internet links. If you watch Newbies (new or inexperienced Internet users) navigating on the web, it’s interesting to …
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Typo-Squatting
Typo-squatting is the practice of registering a domain name that closely matches an existing (popular) domain name in the hope that it will receive visitors who misspell the original domain name. Using the word “mortgage” for our example, typo-squatters may register domain names based on a common misspelling such as …
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UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy)
UDRP is an acronym for Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, and refers to the policy set forth by ICANN to resolve domain name disputes in the case of trademark infringement or abusive registrations. If the complainant wins a UDRP case, the domain may be transferred to them. If the respondent wins …
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Unicode
Unicode is a universal encoding scheme to enable the use of characters from all over the world such as those used in Japan, China, Germany, France, and even hieroglyphics. Originally, domain names were constrained to ASCII characters. The Unicode system is one of the pieces necessary to enable Internationalized Domain …
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Unique-Visitors
Unique visitor is the term used to refer to the number of users who have not visited a web page or web site previously, or have not visited within a specified timeframe. Most web site statistics programs count a user as a unique visitor if it is the first time …
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Upload
Upload is the term used to describe the act of transferring a file to a computer server through a network (i.e. the Internet). For example, you upload a file when you add content to your web site, or add files to your FTP account.…
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URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
URL is the acronym for Uniform Resource Locator although the full term is rarely used. A URL is the address a user would enter in order to navigate to any document, resource, or web page on the Internet. To most people, a domain name refers to the web site itself, …
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USPTO
USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) is the U.S. Federal agency that is responsible for managing all U.S. patents and trademarks. You can find them online athttp://www.uspto.gov…
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uTLD (Unsponsored Top-Level Domain)
uTLD is the acronym used for Unsponsored Top-Level Domain and refers to a TLD that has no sponsoring organization behind it, but instead the policies are applied by ICANN. This term is rarely used in passing conversation, and only referenced when distinguishing between sponsored and unsponsored TLDs. Examples of uTLDs …
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Web Hosts
A web host is a company hired to store files and data for their clients and to serve that data to visitors on the World Wide Web via high speed Internet connections.…
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Web Server
A web server is a computer connected to the Internet that distributes web sites and files. All web sites are hosted on web servers, usually managed by web hosting companies. When you access a web site or file on the Internet, you connect to a web server, which then delivers …
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Web Site Redirect
A web site redirect or URL forward is the term used when visitors are routed from one web site to another. There are multiple methods for redirecting a web site, via the web server itself, or using simple code on the web page. Some web site redirects are seamless without …
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Web Site Statistics Programs
Web site statistics programs read and organize the server web logs in order to display web site traffic within any given timeframe. Statistics programs can range in complexity, from a simple overview of how many visitors a web site received in one month, to the location of each visitor, how …
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Web Traffic
Web traffic refers to the amount of activity that a web site or web page receives or delivers within a specific timeframe. Web Traffic is measured to determine the popularity of a web page or web site by calculating unique visits, visits, page views, impressions and other related statistics. This …
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Whois Privacy
Whois privacy is a service offered by many registrars, which replaces your personal contact information in your public domain name whois record with proxy contact information that is managed by the registrar. It allows you to keep your contact information private, while still being accessible anonymously.…
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Whois Record
The whois record is a public record indicating who owns and manages a domain name. Along with the domain owner’s contact information, the whois record also tells you the registrar where the domain name is registered and the domain’s expiration date. Many registrars now offer a whois privacy service, which …
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Whois Server
A whois server is a server that responds to whois queries, or whois record searches. A whois server is most commonly maintained by a registrar or registry and delivers the public record assigned to every domain name containing information on who owns and manages any particular domain name.…
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WWW (World Wide Web)
The World Wide Web is a network of interlinked web sites, files, and documents accessed via the Internet with a web browser and navigated with hyperlinks. It’s interesting to note, that the abbreviation WWW actually has more syllables when pronouncing it than the full term World Wide Web. Well, I …
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WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)
WYSIWYG is the acronym for What You See is What You Get, and pronounced “Wizeewig”. WYSIWYG refers to a user interface that enables the user to edit a document and see what their final content will look like while they work. In the domain and hosting world, a great example …
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Domain Protection
If you’re looking for domain protection services, this is the place to find it, including both domain protection and domain recovery services. The iGoldrush Domain Protection category features a list of companies that offer domain financing along with a link to the company’s website and links to our independent reviews and editor ratings.
Check a domain out, in this search service (free service)