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Search engine marketing glossary

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404 error

File not found. This error occurs when the host server cannot find the specific file that a search engine spider or browser requests.

Above the fold

Refers to the first screen viewed on a computer monitor when a document is opened.

Absolute link

Hyperlinks that include the complete URL, which is the domain name, pathname (if used), and filename.

Adjacency

Search specification that requires words typed into a search query to be next to or near one another.

Agent name delivery

The process of delivering specific web pages to a search engine spider by means of the spider's agent name. For example, the agent name of Google’s search engine spider is Googlebot. With this process, search engine spiders and end users do not view the same page. See cloaking.

Algorithm

The mathematical formula used to determine how web pages are ranked in a search engine's or directory’s search results.

Alternative text

In HTML, text placed inside the image source tag. If a graphic image does not appear on a browser screen, the alternative text appears in place of the graphic image. The same text appears when end users view a web page with a text-only browser. Also known as alt text.

Anchor text

In HTML, text that is placed between the <a> and </a> tags. Commonly referred to as a text link.

Applet

A small program written in the Java programming language that usually runs in a web browser, as part of a web page. Search engine spiders currently do not record the text inside a Java applet.

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