SSI (Server-Side Include)
A variable value that a server can include in an HTML file before it sends it to the browser.

SSL (Secure Socket Layer)
Commonly-used protocol for managing the security of a message transmitted via the internet.

Stealth script
CGI script that switches page content depending on who or what is accessing the page.

stickiness
A measure of a user's loyalty to a site, measured in the amount of time spent over a given time period.

stock photography
Copyrighted photographic images that can be licensed for use in a website.

stop words
Stop words (a, an, and, but, he, her, his, i, in, it, of, on, or, she, the, etc.) are common words and characters ignored by some search engines to enhance the speed and relevancy of their search results.

super affiliate
A top earning affiliate who is capable of generating a significant percentage of an affiliate program's income.

Superstitial
A rich media ad format developed by Unicast that combines Flash or other animation technology with Java programming to deliver video-like web commercials.
http://www.unicast.com

surf
Another word for browsing the Web.

surround session
A concept whereby ads follow readers as they link from page to page, deploying ads from only one advertiser during the entire visit.

T

T-1 / T1
Digital line with a potential bandwidth of 1.544 million bits per second.

T-3 / T3
Digital line that can provide 44.736 million bits per second of bandwidth.

t-commerce
Electronic commerce conducted via interactive TV.

target audience
An audience group being targeted by an advertiser, usually in terms of demographics, interests, product purchase behavior, product usage or media usage.

targeting
Purchasing ad space that matches audience and campaign objective requirements.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
The basic communication language or protocol of the internet.

Telnet
Program that lets you access a remotely hosted computer, assuming you have permission to access it.

text ad
Advertisement using text based links.

theme based content
Theme based content is a concept used by search engines to classify a site as one based around one theme, much like a human would.

thread
Sequence of responding messages to an initial message posted in Usenet newsgroups and similar forums.

thumbnail
A term used by graphic designers and photographers for a small image representation of a larger image.

timeout
An action that takes place after a certain time has elapsed. For example, your dial-up connection may "timeout" by disconnecting if no activity has taken place for some time.

title tag
HTML tag used to define the title of a page. The title is displayed at the top of a web browser and also used by many search engines as the title of a search result listing.

TLD (Top-Level Domain)
Identifies the most general part of the domain name in an internet address. A TLD is either a generic top-level domain (gTLD), such as "com" for "commercial," "net" for "network," etc., or a country code top-level domain (ccTLD), such as "uk" for the United Kingdom.

trick banner
A banner ad that attempts to trick people into clicking the banner, with graphics that look like actual links or buttons, or an operating system error message.

trademark (tm)
A name, symbol, or other device identifying a product, officially registered and legally restricted to the use of the owner or manufacturer. Search the United States Patent and Trademark Office to find out if a word is trademarked.
http://www.uspto.gov

two tier affiliate program
Affiliate program that pays affiliates commissions on their conversions [first tier], in addition to conversions of webmasters they refer [second tier] to the program.

U

UCD (User-Centered Design)
A method for designing ease-of-use into the total user experience with products.

unique / unique visitor
A single count of a visitor with a unique IP address who visits a website during a specified period of time; usually a month.

UNIX
A popular server operating system.

Uptime
The time during which a website is accessible.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
An address of a file accessible on the internet.

URL redirection
URL redirection is the process of automatically redirecting a user to a different URL, without the user's intervention.

Usability
The user-friendliness and ease-of-use of a product to achieve specified goals.

Usenet newsgroups
Collection of user submitted messages and discussions on various search engine topics that are posted to servers on a worldwide network.

user session
Each time a site visitor with a unique IP address enters a website during a specified period of time; usually 20-30 minutes, is counted as one user session. If the visitor exits the site and re-enters within the specified period of time, it does not count as another user session.