IP Addresses
These outward-facing computers are identified by an IP address which is ideally unique for any individual computer on the planet. The original IP system (IPv4) consists of four numbers between 0 and 255, e.g. 12.144.65.19 and 253.123.67.44, giving 256 possible values for each integer, four times, giving 4,294,967,296 unique values.
This system didn’t plan for such a large internet and so we have outgrown it! So, a new standard called IPv6 was introduced - these addresses look like e.g. 2001:0db8:85a3:0042:1000:8a2e:0370:7334. This system provides 3.4×10^38 unique addresses, thus we are simply not going to run out.
DNS
So these IP addresses point to a server. Cool. But what about the domain names we type into our browser address bars? This is where the domain name system (DNS) comes in.
This system translates readable, human language to IP addresses. It’s basically a phonebook for server IPs. At some point, you will need to purchase a domain name and modify its DNS settings to point to a server. I do a large tutorial on this elsewhere (https://tolocal.com/career/marketing_specialist!).
There are several types of servers internet marketers use. Servers
Virtual Private Servers (VPS) - these are servers that run in their own virtual ‘container’ on some server box. Think of it as running multiple instances of some software on one computer. The VPS are all separate from each other but share the same hardware resources.
Depending on the type of VPS technology used, each VPS may have dedicated resources e.g. RAM and CPU usage. Due to their virtual nature, these systems are highly flexible - you can create and destroy them in minutes; scalable - you can expand or reduce their resources on demand; and cheap - many services bill by the hour so you can use them for a day just to test something.
Dedicated Server - your own individual server unit, i.e. a computer all to yourself. Dedicated resources, higher performance (usually), more reliable, more expensive. One disadvantage is
that it’s more difficult to scale with demand and you’re unlikely to find an hourly billing system - so they are a larger investment.
Lastly, let’s talk about content distribution networks (CDNs). Think of these as a huge network of thousands, heck even tens of thousands of servers, that are used for delivering static content like images, text, video, and CSS and JavaScript files.
Traffic source.
This could be a paid traffic source or a ‘free’ source of sorts.
By free I mean a source of visitors that receives traffic organically from search engines, Facebook posts/pages, content articles, or from regular followers who visit a site/blog/etc.
Most traffic sources are what we would consider "paid traffic", and this is what this forum focuses on.
Examples include Facebook, Google Adwords, and display advertising.
Generally, you will pay to have banners displayed on these traffic sources, on a per-click or per-impression basis, otherwise known as CPC and CPM, respectively.
An impression is a single delivery of your ad, which usually means a view by a user. Sometimes ads may deliver "below the fold" - the bottom of your browser window, so users will have to scroll down to see them. In this situation it's possible to get an impression without a user physically looking at your banner, hence why "above the fold" inventory is typically higher priced.
When users click on these banners, they will be sent to a URL of your choice - typically that of a tracking system you use.
A tracking system
This isn’t a typical entity or third party business like the other entities described here, but it is an integral part of your marketing campaigns and something which you control.
The Advertiser
When it comes to marketing campaigns at TOLOCAL, the advertiser is the person who owns the offer. This seems counter-intuitive since you are doing the advertising. However, remember, it is the product owner who is advertising their product or service and they are merely using an affiliate network as one means to this end.
The advertiser’s interests generally come first-especially to the affiliate network. This is why you will often be required to send in banners and landing pages for approval. This is to protect the brand of the advertiser by making sure people aren’t advertising their product or service and an unacceptable way.