Go to the list of all search engine marketing definitions.
Definitions
- META
METArefers to a kind of HTML element used to store a page's metadata.- Hidden snippets of HTML code that add functions to HTML files — can be used to improve the accuracy of internal and external search engines, control how a page displays for a given browser type, provide information such as author and expiration date, or rate the content of a page. Tetranet 01
- Information placed in the HTML header of a web page, providing information that is not visible to browsers. The most common meta tags relevant to search engines are keyword and description tags. Bruemmer 01
- meta search engine
- A program running on a web server that receives amd passes a query on to a group of search engines and directories and then receives their responses and summarizes the results in asearch report for the user submitting the query. Ask Jeeves, Dogpile, Metacrawler, Metafind and Metasearch are examples.
- metadata
-
Data about data. To use documents, you need to know something them; who wrote them, when they wrote them, what they're about, which version they are, who owns them, and so on. This is metadata. This information may be obvious to a human reading the document, but is rarely obvious to a computer. Thus, we normally keep metadata around to help with automatic processing of documents. Metadata is happy living in relational (SQL
) databases, whereas documents often aren't.
Metadata is central to the unfulfilled task of automating the Web. Recently,
the W3C has taken the metadata bit between its teeth,
manifested chiefly in the
Resource Description Framework ("RDF") activity.
Tim Bray
01 - A back-of-the-book index and a dictionary are both examples of metadata -- information about information contained in a document or database. Electronic examples of metadata include information encoded in the <meta> tags on Web pages and "controlled vocabularies," hierarchical lists of subject terms developed to make commercial bibliographic databases easier to search. Montague 01
- paid inclusion
- This is one of the paid-search advertising techniques; see also paid listings and in-context promotion.
- Based on placement in the search results themselves, rather than in separate listings. Advertisers supply a list of Web pages to be refreshed regularly in the search provider's index. Typically, a set fee is charged each time a visitor clicks on a link. Search providers say they give no guarantee of placement in search results, despite the "pay-per-click" fee. The key players are Yahoo-owned Inktomi; AltaVista and Fast Search & Transfer (both owned by Overture); Ask Jeeves-owned Teoma; and LookSmart. Olsen, Stefanie
- paid listings
- This is one of the paid-search advertising techniques; see also paid inclusion and in-context promotion.
- Advertisers bid on keywords related to their products or services. The highest bidders, ranked in descending order, appear in search results linked to the keyword, typically under "sponsored" headings. Companies pay only when Web surfers click on their links. These "pay-for-performance" listings are found on all major Web portals and are widely offered by search providers. Analysts estimate that they comprise up to 70 percent of the clicks on a search results page. Key players are Overture, Google, FindWhat and Sprinks. Olsen, Stefanie
- phrase search
- A search for documents containing an exact sentence or phrase specified by a user in a search engine text box. Bruemmer 01
- query
- See also search string.
- A word, phrase or group of words characterizing the information a user seeks from search engines and directories. The search engine subsequently locates web pages to match the query. Bruemmer 01
