Definitions

I've been seeing a lot of misuse of various digital marketing terms lately, so I thought I'd compile some of the most common infractions into a master list. Feel free to add on.

"Banner Ads"
Alright, this one I'm starting to accept. I give up.
Technically, a "banner" is a 468x60 px ad unit.
What people are actually referring to should more appropriately be called a "Web display ad" or similar, though.

"PPC"
Literally an abbreviation for "Pay Per Click", this term is often used to specifically describe paid placements on search engine results (and related networks). Although this is not exactly wrong, it is very limiting. A wide range of other online advertising methods are also available on a per click basis.

"Social Media"
Another one that's not exactly wrong, but is out of scope. Social Media should refer to the broad concepts of consumer-generated content and consumer-to-consumer interaction/communication. Unfortunately, many people seem to confuse this term with "Social Network", which specifically refers to media properties that are made up of groups of users. These networks do tend to use Social Media principles, but there are countless non-network properties and tools that should be considered "Social Media".

"Web 2.0"
It means nothing anymore. Stop using it. This term once referred to some particular changes in technology and user behaviour. But it's been so over-used to describe anything innovative that it's now meaningless.

"Hit"
An oldie, but a goodie. A "hit" is a single call to a server. NOT a visit to a Web site or use of a digital tool. A page with a hundred images on it would have 100 hits with a single visit, for example.


How's that for a start?