Here are definitions of some terms you may need to know

Backlink: A backlink is a link coming from another website to your own site. The number and quality of backlinks that your site has affects your site ranking. Some search engines give significant weight to the backlinks of a site.

Directory: Directories are like an internet yellow-pages. Some directories can be industry-specific others are generic.

Domain name: it is the address of your site. If you use the analogy of your house the domain name is your street address. www.simplewizardry.com is my address.

Flash: an animation that could be audio and/or video. Since Flash can't be read well by the search engines we prefer to use it as little as possible.

Hosting: you rent space on a computer to broadcast your site 24/7. It is the hosting company's responsibility to keep your site up and email flowing even in the event of a power outage.

Internet marketing is also known as i-marketing, web-marketing, online-marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or e-Marketing. It is the marketing of products or services over the Internet.

Search engine optimization: (also known as SEO) the strategic process to get your site well ranked by a search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) The higher the ranking the better chance you have of coming up on the first few pages.

Virtual Assistant: a business owner who partners with you to help you run your business whether it's a bookkeeper, marketer, office manager or any other professional. Outsource the tasks that give you grief! (Visit newenglandvirtualassistants.com or ivaa.org for more info.)