E-commerce Glossary
Do you know your TTMs from your TCOs? Check out our e-commerce glossary to be ahead of the game in 2022.
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Amazon MarketplaceAmazon Marketplace – the largest 3rd party ecommerce platform, choosing to sell on the Amazon Marketplace can help significantly boost volume through your store. Amazon charge fees on every sale through the Marketplace, and also offer Fulfilment By Amazon, where they handle the fulfilment process for your business at extra cost.
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AffiliateAffiliate – an individual or business who promotes the products or services of another for a commission. Ecommerce sites run affiliate programmes to encourage other website owners to refer traffic, paying a commission on each sale through a given affiliate link.
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CROCRO – Conversion Rate Optimisation, the process of tweaking design, layout and text on your site to delivered a measured, consistent hike in conversion rates.
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CTACTA – Call To Action, the heading or phrase on your page encouraging the visitor to take action and click your buy button. CTAs have a proven impact on conversion rates.
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Conversion RateConversion Rate – The percentage of visitors to a given page that convert into customers.
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CMSCMS – Content Management System, a back-end interface that makes editing content more user-friendly, e.g. WordPress.
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Domain NameDomain Name – the web address of your online store, for example www.myshop.com.
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DropshippingDropshipping – A type of ecommerce arrangement where the manufacturer or distributor ships directly to your customers, often in generic packaging. This means you don’t hold stock, but expect to pay a greater cost per item sold.
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Evolutionary AlgorithmsEvolutionary Algorithms – a type of algorithm put to use in generating artificially intelligent ecommerce systems, evolutionary algorithms test variables, find a winner and reset on loop, optimising the sales funnel to drive gradual, consistent improvements in conversion performance.
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EcommerceEcommerce – online retail, the process of selling products online and on mobile through shops, 3rd party marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay, and other channels.
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EbayEbay – an ecommerce giant, auction site Ebay allows retailers access to a market of buyers. Sellers pay a listing fee and a percentage of the sale of the item on Ebay, with the option to auction or set a Buy It Now price. Ecommerce sellers often use Ebay as an alternative 3rd party marketplace, in addition to selling through their own site.
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Google Webmaster ToolsGoogle Webmaster Tools – the main channel of communicating with Google as a website owner, Google Webmaster Tools gives feedback about your website and your Google rankings, from Google, so you can tweak and optimise your website performance for better results.
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Google AnalyticsGoogle Analytics – the industry standard for analytics, Google Analytics is a free tool you can link up with your website, enabling you to track traffic through your site and their interactions with you funnels and goals. Google Analytics provides invaluable insights about your website, which can be used as a basis for identify growth hacks.
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Gold tkkjbContrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical
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LogisticsLogistics – logistics is the process of getting your stock in and out, turning around the stuff you buy into the stuff you sell to your customers. Logistics proves an increasing challenge as your business scales, and many ecommerce businesses choose to outsource their logistics function.
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Landing PageLanding Page – a landing page is a page your customers will land on, either from paid traffic or search traffic, designed to maximise the chances of conversion on a desired action. In some cases, a landing page will be used to capture email addresses, or will simply pitch a product directly to the website visitor.
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Long TailLong Tail – Long tail is the phrase used to describe individual, highly specific keywords and search terms, which in volume can add up to a significant amount of traffic. Think of Amazon – millions of product pages each attracting even just a handful of visitors every month can soon add up into substantial traffic flows and sales.
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Multi-Channel EcommerceMulti-Channel Ecommerce – multi-channel ecommerce is the process of selling goods and services across multiple different channels and devices, including online and on mobile.
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MarginMargin – margin is the profit percentage of a sale, after the cost of goods and expenses have been factored in. Margin percentage is an essential metric in establishing the level of profitability in a given sale or product line.
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OlarkOlark – an industry leading IM chat support client with analytics functions, useful in increasing conversion rates and providing more comprehensive support to customers and leads on a real-time basis.
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OutsourceOutsource – hiring third party providers to handle elements or functions of your business on your behalf, outsourcing is commonplace in ecommerce, on everything from web design to logistics and fulfilment.
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PaypalPaypal – one of the leading payment processors, preferred by a number consumers over any other single payment method. Owned by Ebay, Paypal is an essential component of your ecommerce payment setup.
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Payment GatewayPayment Gateway – the payment processor used to handle transactions on your ecommerce store, your payment gateway can be either on-site or off-site, depending on what works best for your model.
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PPCPPC – Pay per click, a form of advertising where you bid on specific keywords and pay every time someone clicks your advert (and is directed to your website). Google Adwords is the most well-known example of a PPC network.
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Social SignalsSocial Signals – Social signals are a ranking factor in Google, drawn from social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus. Similar to links, they allow Google to determine which websites people are more likely to be interested in looking at, as one element of the wider ranking equation.
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SERPSERP – Search engine results page, the page that is generated by searching for a given phrase on Google. SEO is all about moving up the SERPs, so your website is clickable from position number 1 of page 1, or as close to that as possible.
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SEOSEO – Search engine optimisation, the process of setting out your website and building links in a Google-friendly way, to ensure your website is given the best possible ranking within relevant SERPs.
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WordPressWordPress – WordPress is a free, open source blogging platform, used as a basis for creating ecommerce stores and a series of other websites. WordPress ties up with WooCommerce and others to provide ecommerce functionality through the WordPress platform.
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WholesaleWholesale – the stage in the supply chain before retail, wholesale deals in bulk volumes. You may be buying stock wholesale, or selling wholesale to another trade party.