Adult Verification Systems or AVS:
Companies which protect your adult content from being viewed by minors. They do this by requiring your visitor to pay a nominal fee of which a percentage is paid out to you.

Advertising Network:
Typically a sales organization that manages the commerce, reporting and serving of advertisements across a group of Web sites. An ad network has the ability to deliver unique combinations of targeted audiences because it serves your banner or ad across multiple sites.

Affinity Group:
A group of people with common interests. A special interest group identified for purposes of targeting specific ads.

Agents:
1. Representatives who broker Web advertising space. 2. Software programs (spiders).

Animated GIF:
An animation created by combining multiple GIF images into one file. The result is multiple images, displayed one after another, that give the appearance of movement. Animated GIFs are very useful for attracting/distracting Web surfers.

Backbone:
The primary conduit of electronic traffic in a network. Frequently used to describe the major information arteries between networks around the world.

Bandwidth:
The amount of information that can be transmitted over communications lines at one time. The higher the bandwidth, the faster the Web page loads. Limited bandwidth is the main reason for keeping pictures small. Just as it seems we will never have fast enough computers, it feels like we will never have enough bandwidth. The amount of research and development money being thrown at this problem should yield surprising results before long.

Banner:
Typically a rectangular graphic element which acts as an advertisement on the Web and entices the viewer to click on it for further information, typically on the advertiser's Web site.

Banner Exchanges:
Yet another method of increasing traffic to your website. Visit our listings for a detailed explanation of how each banner exchange program works.

Banner Network:
See Advertising Network above.

Billing Options:
In order to run a subscription based website (or to sell anything without requiring the customer to mail a check) you need to signup with an online billing company (which will process orders generated through your website).

Cache:
A file on the client computer that stores temporary text and graphics for display in the browser. This speeds page viewing when you hit the Back button. Institutional cache helps speed viewing when many people use a common gateway to look at the same pages on the Internet.

Click-Streams:
The electronic path a user takes while navigating from site to site, or within a site from page to page.

Click-Through:
The act of clicking on a banner or other ad, which takes the user through to the advertiser's Web site. Used as a counter point to impressions to judge the response-inducing power of the banner.

Click-Through Rate (CTR):
The response rate of an online advertisement, typically expressed as a percentage and calculated by taking the number of click-throughs the ad received, dividing that number by the number of impressions and multiplying by 100 to obtain a percentage: Example: 20 clicks / 1,000 impressions = .02 x 100 = 2% CTR [Source: 3 ]

CPA:
Cost Per Action. The price paid by an advertiser for each "action" that a content site delivers. "Action" may be a sale, a lead, a successful form fill-out, a download of a software program or an e-commerce sale of a product. Both the action, price and terms of a CPA purchase are mutually agreed upon by the advertiser and content site, and such a purchase typically involves a backend tracking system provided by the advertiser that allows the content site to view clicks and actions every 24 hours if they choose to do so.

CPC:
Cost Per Click. The price paid by an advertiser to a content site. When buying on a Cost Per Click model, the advertiser and content site have mutually agreed that the content site will continue to display the advertiser's ad creative until X number of clicks have been delivered - the amount purchased. This pricing model typically ranges between 10 cents CPC up to $2 CPC and as with other forms of online advertising, is dependent on content, audience reached and targeted delivery. Untargeted delivery is lower priced, while ad creatives targeted to an affluent audience are at the high end of the rate scale.

CPM:
Cost Per Thousand (Roman Numeral) impressions. The price paid by an advertiser for a content site displaying their banner 1,000 times.

CPS:
Cost Per Sale or Signup. Price paid by an advertiser to a content site for each sale that results from a visitor who is referred from the content site to the advertiser's site. This type of buying model is typically tracked with cookies [http://www.cookiecentral.com/], where the cookie is offered on the content site and read on the advertiser's site at the success page after successful completion of one transaction/sale. Typical rates/bounties range between five percent and 25 percent of the retail price of the product or service being sold. See also CPA above.

Cookies:
Client-side text files that are used by Web servers to store information about a visitor's behavior while navigating through the site. The information collected in the cookie can only be read by the server that authored the cookie. Cookies are used to identify repeat visitors and track visitor behavior.

Copy:
The printed text or spoken words in an advertisement.

Counter:
In order to track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts you will need information pertaining to your website's daily traffic (how many 'hits/visitors' your website receives). Refer to the following areas for a complete listing of online services which provide such information.

Creative:
The concept, design and artwork that go into a given ad.

Daughter Windows:
See Interstitial Ads. Advertising.com's term for Interstitial Ads.

Credit Card Processors:
Companies which allow you to accept credit cards as a form of payment on your website. Such companies take a 9-18% cut off your gross sales in exchange for letting you use their credit card merchant account.

Custom Programming:
Companies/individuals who can create custom designed scripts/software for your e-business.

Demographics:
Common characteristics that allow for population segmentation. Typical demographic data points include age, gender, postal code and income.

Effective Frequency:
The number of times an ad should be shown to one person to realize the highest impact of the ad without wasting impressions on that individual.

Effective Reach:
The number of people who will see an ad the most effective number of times. The most effective frequency.

Elasticity:
The relationship between a change in advertising budget and a supposedly connected change in revenues.

Envelopes:
Many people are worried that the envelopes from their adult sponsor could be offensive. All adult sponsors send they're checks in blank white normal envelopes.

Exposures:
See Impression.

FAQ:
Frequently Asked Questions. A list of the most common inquiries on a given subject.

Free Hosting:
Companies which will host your website free of charge. In exchange they place their advertisements on your web pages (generally at the top & bottom of every page within your website).

Frequency:
The number of times a given person will see an ad in a given time period.

Gallery Posts or TGP:
Similar to Pic Posts, the only difference is that they do not link to a single picture. You must create a web page containing a series of pictures.

GIF:
Graphical Interchange Format. The most common file compression format for banner ads and most other pictures on the Web.

Gross Exposures/Gross Impressions:
The total number of times an ad is shown, including duplicate showings to the same person.

Hits:
Every time a file is sent by a server, be it text, graphic, video and so on, it is recorded as a hit. Not a reliable gauge to compare different sites, as one page with five graphic elements will register six hits when viewed, while a page with no graphics will only register one hit.

Hosting:
In order for other people to view/access your website you must use a web hosting company. Web hosting companies 'place' your website on the Internet.

Impression:
The Opportunity To See (OTS) a banner or other ad by a surfer. When a page that includes a banner is viewed, it is considered an impression.

Interstitial Ads:
Web pages that pop up between what the viewer is looking at and what they are expecting to get. More like a TV commercial than anything else on the Web (at the moment).

Inventory:
The amount of available space for banners on a Web site that can be delivered in a given time period. Also known as the amount of gross impressions per month (or clicks if the publishers is selling on a Cost Per Click rate model) available for sale to advertisers by a Web publisher.

IP Address:
Internet Protocol Address. A unique number assigned to every computer on the Internet, even if only temporarily.

Link:
A hypertext connection between two documents, image maps, graphics and the like.

Link Directories:
Websites which will place a link back to your website. They generally require you to place a reciprocal link on your website.

Merchant Accounts:
If you'd rather apply for your own credit card merchant account (and end up paying only 2-4% off gross sales) then you should contact these merchant account providers.

Newsgroup:
An electronic bulletin board open to everybody and divided into tens of thousands of subjects. Only a handful of newsgroups permit the posting of advertising.

Online Check Processors:
Companies which allow you to accept checks 'online' as a form of payment.

Opportunity To See (OTS):
A page view is an OTS, but not necessarily an impression. The page can be downloaded but if the banner is located at the bottom of the page and the visitor does not scroll down, the banner is not seen.

Page-View:
When a Web page is requested by somebody through a browser. Page-views are often used to track the number of impressions a banner gets.

Pay-By-Phone Processors:
Companies which allow you to 'charge' a customer by having them call a telephone number (generally a 900 number).

Pic(ture) Posts:
Websites which do not offer any pictures of their own, only of other websites. In other words, they will display 'your' pictures on 'their' website, in return they will place a link back to you (which can send significant traffic to your website).

Pop-up window:
A small window opens when you enter a site. Most surfers find this innoying. Check tool section for popup window info.

Premium Hosting:
Companies which will host your website for a monthly fee. The advantage to using a Premium Host is that you have complete control over your web pages (no advertisements). If you're serious about making money then you should use a Premium Host.

Proxy:
A proxy server acts as a cache file for an organization. It is also used where firewalls protect the internal network from the external Internet, while continuing to serve Web pages from the inside.

Psychographics:
Common psychological characteristics that allow for population segmentation. Typical psychographic data points include opinions, attitudes and beliefs about various aspects relating to lifestyle and purchasing behavior.

Push:
While email is the quintessential "push" technology, the phrase refers to tools that send information to a user's browser rather than wait for the viewer to reach into the Web and "pull" the information.Primary examples are PointCast, BackWeb and Marimba.

Reach:
The total number of people who will see a given ad.

Secure payers:
All sponsors that we recieve complaints about are moved to the spammers page. This is to ensure that all sponsors listed should be secure payers.

Sell-Through Rate:
The percentage of banner or other ads sold as opposed to traded or bartered in an ad network.

Session:
A completed visit to a Web site by a surfer/viewer/visitor. A session can start at the home page and last anywhere from mere moments to hours, depending on the interest the visitor has in the information, games and so on at the site.

Scripts:
Generally referred to as 'cgi' or 'perl', scripts add interactivity and automation to your website.

Software:
Software programs for Windows & Macintosh computers.

Spam:
Originally posting an ad to multiple newsgroups, now used to describe unsolicited email advertising. Named after a skit by Monty Python, spam is one marketing and advertising technique to avoid at all costs.

Sponsor:
Company which pays you in exchange for the traffic you send to their subscription websites

Sponsor Programs - Click Thrus:
Subscription based sites running programs which pay you a fixed/variable dollar amount 'per click/visitor' sent from your website.

Sponsor Programs - Pay Per Signup:
Programs which pay you a fixed/variable dollar amount 'per signup/sale' generated through your website.

Sponsor Programs - Partnerships:
Programs which pay you a percentage of all 'initial and recurring sales' generated through your website.

Thumbnail Gallery Posts or TGP:
Similar to Pic Posts, the only difference is that they do not link to a single picture. You must create a web page containing a series of pictures. Example TGP Site: http://www.xxxsexyweb.com

Top Sites:
Websites which will place a link back to your website. However your placement will depend on the number of visitors you send them in comparison to the other websites listed on their web page.

Traffic:
The number and types of people who come to a Web site. Measured in many different ways.

Traffic Counter:
In order to track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts you will need information pertaining to your website's daily traffic (how many 'hits/visitors' your website receives). Refer to the following areas for a complete listing of online services which provide such information.

Tutorials:
Articles that will expand your knowledge and keep you informed of important developments in the world of adult e-commerce (as well as non-adult).

URL:
Uniform Resource Locator. The address of any particular page on the World Wide Web.
Example: http://www.xmastercentral.com

Universe:
The total population in a given market segment used as the baseline from which reach, frequency and response figures are calculated.

Web Design:
Companies/individuals which specialize in designing, graphics, animation and more for their use on the Net. Example: http://adult.atomicdigital.org