TLAs (Three Letter Abbreviations) are everywhere these days and the field of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is particularly crowded with these random-sounding strings of letters, used as a kind of internal shorthand for people to refer to commonly discussed concepts without having to waste valuable seconds articulating the complete words.

This has become especially important with the advent of services like Twitter where users are limited to just 140 characters per message.  Actually having to write Search Engine Optimization (26 characters) would leave you a lot less room to brag about how good you are at it.

Of course, if you’re just starting to learn about SEO it can be a little tricky to understand what all these TLAs stand for.  Listed below are a selection of some of the most commonly used abbreviations that you’ll encounter.  Some are used specifically within SEO circles, but you’ll also find a lot of them in regular use in plenty of other places as well.

As ever, if there are any other TLAs that you think are missing from the list, feel free to add them to the comments at the end of this post.

TLAs for SEOs

• SEO = Search Engine Optimization
  The art/science (depending on who you talk to) of tuning web pages for better visibility in search engines like Google.
• SEM = Search Engine Marketing
  This tends to be more focussed on promoting websites by using advertising such as Google’s AdWords.  It also covers any marketing activity, such as writing persuasive sales copy, which goes beyond the technical “nuts-and-bolts” of basic SEO.
• SMM = Social Media Marketing
  A relatively new branch within the SEO/SEM field, Social Media Marketing refers to the development and distribution of promotional content through Social Media sites such as YouTube, Facebook or Digg, where the intention is to get users to spread your marketing message to others within their Social Network.
• PPC = Pay Per Click
  A pricing model for SEM adverts where the advertiser is charged each time a user clicks on their advert.
• CPC = Cost Per Click
  The amount charged for a single click on a PPC advert.
• CPM = Cost Per Mille
  An alternative pricing model for SEM adverts where the advertiser is charged Per Thousand (Mille is Latin for 1,000) Impressions (or views) of their advert.
• ROI = Return On Investment
  The ratio of money made (through sales or leads generated) by a campaign, compared to the cost of implementing that campaign (e.g. the charges for a CPC advert).
• MFA = Made For Advertising
  Refers to spammy sites that have been made purely with the intention or drawing traffic to view and click on adverts.
  Sometimes defined as Made For AdSense, referring specifically to Google’s advertising program.
• IBL = InBound Link
  Links to a site or page from other sites on the Internet.  Also called Backlinks or InLinks.
• FFA = Free For All
  Refers to sites which allow anyone to drop a link to their website, resulting in a linkfarm.  Google generally devalues links from such sites from passing any weight in their algorithm.
• SERP = Search Engine Results Page
  Yes, I know that’s four letters, but it gets used a lot, so it still counts.
• PR = PageRank
  No, this one isn’t three letters either, but it will come up a lot.  Although as you learn more about SEO you’ll come to realise that references to PageRank (especially Toolbar PageRank) are largely meaningless.
• ORM = Online Repuation Management
  This is the process of monitoring an individual’s or a brand’s reputation through online sources such as news articles, blog or forum posts (or just about anywhere else online) and developing methods to respond to and counteract any negative or potentially damaging information.  In some cases this may simply be a matter of “burying” negative content by creating content of a more positive nature which will outrank the negative posts in the SERPs.  More ethical ORM involves dealing with the negative issues highlighted, resolving them and potentially turning the “bashers” into “brand advocates.”
• ATF = Above The Fold
  The portion of a web page that is visible as soon as the page loads, without the user having to scroll down.  Regarded as the best place to position important messages and calls to action.
• BTF = Below The Fold
  The rest of a web page, which will only be seen by visitors who scroll down the page (assuming that the content placed ATF was interesting enough to entice them to do so).
• KEI = Keyword Effectiveness Indicator
  A value calculated for a given keyword based on the number of searches for that word compared to the number of webpages where it is found by search engines.
• ODP = Open Directory Project
  A human edited directory of sites on the internet.  Can provide great value to a site to have a listing and a link from this directory, but can take a very long time for a submission to be processed.
• SPAM = Sites Positioned Above Mine
  That means pretty much all of you

TLAs for Internet Technology

• API = Application Programming Interface
  A set of instructions or tools which can be used by developers to create applications based on another provider’s services and information.  e.g. Facebook’s API for creating all those annoying applications that your friends spam you with invitations to add to your profile.
• CMS = Content Management System
  A program, such as WordPress or Drupal, which is designed to handle the “heavy-lifting” of creating web pages, allowing users to focus their efforts on creating the actual content that will be published on a page.
• TLD = Top Level Domain
  The .com (or .co.uk / .net / .org etc) part of an internet domain name.
• URL = Uniform Resource Locator
  The full length address of a specific page on the internet, which appears in the address bar of your internet browser.
• URI = Uniform Resource Indicator
  This means the same as URL.  Ironically, the usage of the term isn’t uniform across the world.

TLAs in Common Use on the Interwebz

• BTW = By The Way
  Used to interject an aside during a conversation, often turning the converstion towards a completely unrelated subject.  e.g. “BTW did you see BSG last night?  6 is sooo hot!”
• BSG = BattleStar Galactica
  The best show on TV.  But if any Americans Twitter spoilers before it airs in the UK (on the Tuesday following when it airs in the USA) I will un-follow you.
• FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions
  Like “What does FTW stand for?”
• FTW = For The Win
  A rally cry for success.  Not to be confused with WTF.
• LOL = Laugh Out Loud
  A long standing favourite of internet chatroom users and moblie phone text messagers everywhere, used to show when they find something funny.  See also ROFL.
• ROFL = Roll On (the) Floor Laughing
  What happens when you LOL too hard.
• WTF = What The F*ck
  Used as an exclamation of surprise, disgust and/or bewilderment.
  As in “Dude, WTF does FTW mean?”