Glossary of Internet Service Related Terms

Keyword

A word or words which can be searched for in documents or menus.

Keyword Density

The number of times a keyword is used on a web page divided by the total number of words on the page. Expressed as a percentage. Some search engines use this property for Positioning. Analysers are available which allow comparisons between pages. Pages can then be produced with the similar keyword densities to those found in high ranking pages.

Keyword Frequency

Denotes how often a keyword appears in a page or in an area of a page. In general, higher the number of times a keyword appears in a page, higher its search engine ranking. However, repeating a keyword too often in a page can lead to that page being penalized for spamming.

Keyword Phrase

General term used to define a specific word phrase that best describes the main topic of a web page. Synonymous with a search phrase that a visitor enters into a search engine to find specific information.

Keyword Stuffing

The act of repeating keywords or keyword phrases excessively in body copy, hidden text, meta tags, or any other code on the site. Originally done in order to increase rankings in search engines, this tactic is now recognized and penalized by most of the major search engines.

Killer application

A software program which is so successful that it corners the market, or inspires people to upgrade their equipment in order to be able to use it.

Knowbot

Software that searches Internet 'white pages' and lists of users at large institutions, to find a person's name and address.