Here is a list of some eCommerce Common Terms used and definitions:
| 301 Redirects | A way to let search engines and site visitors know that a web page is moved to a different location. |
| Custom 404 | Page Can be created to let your visitors know what went wrong i.e. why a page is missing on your site, while retaining the unique style of your site. |
| A/B Testing | A simple process where you compare two different versions of a web page to determine which works best. |
| Abandoned Carts | A process for an online order but drops out of the process before completing the purchase. |
| Affiliate Marketing | This is a 3-party marketing process where a website refers users to 3rd party website with a view to generating traffic and creating sales |
| Assisted Conversions | A Google Analytics report that summarizes how important each marketing channel is in a consumer’s conversion journey. |
| Bounce Rate | Bounce Rate is a percentage of visitors who navigate away from the website without carryout any other further activity. |
| Brick and Mortar | A business that has a physical store that customers can go to. |
| Business to Business (B2B) | The process of selling services or products to another business |
| Business to Consumer (B2C) | The process of selling services or products directly to the consumer. |
| Call-to-Action | Typically encourages users to take an action e.g. sign up to a newsletter, buy a product, watch a video etc |
| Click Through Rate | Click-through rate is the ratio of users who click on a specific link vis a vis the total number who sawy the link |
| Conversion Funnel | The conversion funnel often referred to as a “sales funnel,” is the path the visitor takes until the action – purchase etc. |
| Conversion Rate | The number of visitors who transformed into paying customers divided by the total number of visits to the page overall. |
| Cookies | Text files on a website sent to a user’s browser related to how the customer interacts with the website. |
| Cross-Selling | A marketing tactic where sellers present additional productsthat compliments the product being purchased. |
| CSS | Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language like HTML. |
| Drop Shipping | Drop shipping the seller does not keep goods in stock but instead transfers the customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer,/distributor who ships direclty to the customer. |
| Email Marketing | Facility to bulk email market to opted in email addresses. Options to add in links, video, documents. Companies include Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Newsweaver |
| Evergreen Content | Evergreen content is content that is always relevant and interesting. |
| Google AdWords | An advertising service that allows business to set a budget and then runs the promotions that you have written. |
| Google Analytics | Google Analytics tracks and reports website traffic into graphs and charts for easy access to traffic trends over designated periods of time. |
| Hashtag | A hashtag is a type of data tag used on social networks such as Twitter which makes it possible for others to easily find messages with specific content. |
| Inbound Link | An inbound link (also referred to as a back link) is a hyperlink on a 3rd web page that points to a web page on your site. |
| Info Graphics | Infographics are graphical representations of informationto present information quickly and clearly |
| Keyword Ranking | Specifically where your site ranks with a certain keyword on a search engine results page. |
| Landing Pages | Typically, this page is the response to the “call-to-action.” it encrouages users to take an action – sign up to a newsletter, buy a product, watch a video |
| Market Place | Marketplace is an online location where people gather to buy and sell e.g. Amazon, eBay, Etsy |
| Mobile Commerce | The process of buying products or services on a mobile or wireless handheld device. |
| Niche | Goods or services tailored towards a specialized industry, or a select product. |
| Organic Traffic | The way users find a website through a search engine query – non paid listings |
| Page Rank | Measures where a page is ranking with Google or another search engine. Higher ranked pages are closer to the number one spot. |
| Pay per click | Pay-per-click marketing is a form of “buying” site visits to increase traffic. Essentially advertisers pay for ad placement. A common form of PPC marketing is through search engines or search engine optimization. |
| Payment Gateway | Merchant service provided by a 3rd party to authorise online credit card payments – companies include AIB, Global Pay, Sage Page |
| POS or ePOS | Point of sale used within a retail outlet. ePOS electronic point of sale which tupically integrates with your online shop. |
| Search Engine Optimization | Search engine optimization (SEO) strategies used to increase your ranking in the search engines for specific keywords and phrases |
| Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) | Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) are the pages returned by search engines in response to a query. |
| Shopping Cart | An eCommerce shopping cart is the contents of what a user has added to his online order. |
| SSL | SSL Certificates on a website encrypt information being transferred through a website or email – https and/or padlock |
| Trading Online Vouchers – TOV | Grant available through Local Enterprise Office for businesses setting up an eCommerce website |
| Transactions | Purchasing an order online from a business or other seller. |
| Trends | The fluctuation of traffic or a specific period. Trends can be based on many factors such as season, time of day, or relevancy of product based on fads. |
| Upselling | Offering deals on similar products or showing related products in hopes to get users to buy additional items along with their purchase. |
