
Sliced have tried to collate a comprehensive list of terms that we are asked about relating to the internet and website design. If we have made any omission and you wish to add to this list, or if you would like to find out more about our services, contact Sliced for more details. Please note that whilst we have attempted to make sure the information here is correct, we will not be held responsible for any errors.
This is the function of signing in to a computer, network or system such as Sliced webs content management system. If you have ever collected e-mail from an online provider, you will have been required to login to your account. Typically the login requires entering a user-name and password to identify the individual account details.
A series of characters that enables someone to access a file, computer or system. A password should be a combination of characters that would be difficult to guess, as we face more and more hackers and spies who wish to gain our personal data. You have been warned!
A statement as to the location of a file or other item in a directory. A URL often displays the pathname to a website page or file. If a pathname is incorrect the file or page will not be found and an error will be displayed to the user. Not the nicest thing to see on a website, always check the path!
PERL is short for practical extraction and reporting language, which is a programming language often used for creating CGI programs such as e-mail scripts. Perl scripts are not embedded within HTML pages and do not download to the web browser but reside on the server. They execute by being triggered from commands within HTML pages.
PHP is an open source programming language that allows web developers to create dynamic content that interact with databases. PHP is used for developing web based software applications and is a server-side, cross-platform language.
Pinging is a utility which is used to query another computer on a network in order to determine whether there is a connection to it. That's probably all you'll need to know about that!
A pixel is the information stored for a single grid point in an image, or screen. A complete image is an array of pixels. When designing website pages, the pixel is the only practical measurement, as inches, centimetres etc. are no longer applicable. This is because of the vast range of users monitors that will be used to display the final design. A typical monitor is capable of displaying a range of pixels between 640 x 480 pixels up to 1600 x 1200 pixels. Wide screen and high definition monitors will be able to display greater numbers of pixels. Investing in a good quality monitor that shows accurate and sharp pixels is a must if you use your computer much at all!
A plug-in can refer to the ability for hardware or software to be added to a system to enable extra features or functions.
POP denotes equipment that acts as access to the Internet. In e-mail terms a POP server uses the Post Office Protocol, to hold users incoming e-mail until they read or download it.
A transfer of software from one system or machine to another. Or, a sea farers haven. :-)
The protocol is set of rules governing the exchange of data electronically between devices. The Internet uses several protocols such as HTTP and IMAP.
Quicktime is a common video file format created by Apple. Video files found on the Internet are often available in the QuickTime format - and require a special viewer for playback, which is currently released freely by Apple.
Query Language is a language for the specification of procedures for the retrieval of information from a database. It can also be used to modify the data within the database.
When registering to a website the participant actively chooses to become a member of that website, or to be part of a list of people. Always note your privacy rights when doing so.
Red, Green, Blue; the colours that computers are capable of displaying. Computer monitors and other digital devices such as digital cameras use these colours to create all of the colours seen on the monitor and saved in images. When working for print, the monitor emulates CMYK - cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These are the colours used in a four colour printing process, and will often display differently on the screen when compared with the finished print due to bad monitor or device calibration.
A packet is a block of data transmitted across a network. E-mails are sent in many packets via different routes across the Internet, then collated at the recipients host computer to form the data that was originally sent. If a website is unavailable, packets will be lost to and from the website.
To optimise is to rearrange or rewrite data to improve efficiency of retrieval or processing. When images are optimised for the Internet, they are made as small as possible without data corruption. When a website is well optimised, it is succinct and clear, and easily read by humans and search engines alike.
The operating system is the software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as executing applications, and controlling peripherals. The quality of an operating system is vital for the computer or host's proper and virus free functionality. There are many different operating systems around and several have created loyal and dedicated fans, such as Apple's OSX.
By joining a website, forums and other online clubs etc. you will become a member of that website. Usually some login details will be provided to differentiate between various members. By owning a website and inviting people to become a member, you gain a safe, legal (if done correctly) and useful marketing platform from which you can stay in touch with your website members.
To mirror is to keep a copy of some or all of the data contents of a network site, storage device or website, at another site, usually to either improve accessibility to the data, or to provide backup in case one of the devices stops functioning. In hosting terms a dedicated mirror server in a remote location can be a very expensive, but essential requirement for reaching particular service levels.
A modem is a device that allows remote computers to communicate, to transmit and receive data using telephone lines and cables. Modems transmit and decode data that enables a computer to access the Internet.
.MOV is a file extension that denotes a movie or video file created for Apple's QuickTime formats. To view a MOV (or Movie) Quicktime must be installed on the computer accessing the file, luckily it is currently distributed freely by Apple.
MPG is an international standard for encoding and compressing video footage.
Multimedia refers to the provision of audio and video material. A movie, 360º applet and Flash files are all multimedia Internet files. Using multimedia allows for the expression of ideas in communicative ways other than text. With the adoption of faster Internet connections, more multimedia will be seen on the web, including eventually, 'pay on demand' television and video shows.
The MySQL database server is the world's most popular open source database according to its creators. It is an open source database system that empowers developers and companies around the world to provide both online and offline databases at a very affordable price!
Navigation is the method of enabling users to find their way around a website, presentation, game or other medium. Navigation formats include hypertext links; click-able images or icons and links. If a website is well designed, it should be transparent to navigate around, moving in a flowing way from one section to another, in the pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment!
Netscape is a freely available website browser brand name. Founded by Jim Clark and Mark Andreessen in 1994, Netscape developed the Netscape Navigator.
A network is a number of interconnected computers, machines, or operations. The Internet is the largest network to date, connecting millions of users around the world, able to freely share knowledge and information, unless of course you live in China, where the Internet is completely restricted. (are we allowed to say that? Oh well, here's to freedom of speech).
An electronic bulletin issued periodically to members of a society, business, or website. A newsletter can be a very cost effective way of reaching large numbers if members with your product updates and company information. A valuable marketing tool indeed.
A node is a piece of equipment, such as a PC or other hardware attached to a network. A node is an addressable point on a network. Information passing throughout the Internet will travel through nodes on its journey to and from a host computer.
A programming approach based on the concepts of data abstraction and inheritance. Unlike procedural programming techniques, object-oriented programming concentrates on what data objects comprise the problem and how they are manipulated, not on how something is accomplished. Javascript and Flash utilise object orientated programming, which can save time for the programmer, when used correctly!
Open source software is similar in idea to free software. Users of open source software are generally able to view the source code, alter and re-distribute any open source software. Open source software is what makes the programming world go round and round and has spawned some excellent applications that have been handled by many different programmers on route.
A robot is an automated application or program that accesses a website and moves through the website by following the links on the pages. In the context of search engine ranking and optimisation, it implies the same thing as Spider and serves to index the website.
A router is a device that forwards data packets to the required parts of a computer network.
Apple computer's website browser distributed freely to Apple Macintosh users who use Apples OSX operating system. Safari was the first browser to pass the web standards Acid Test 2. Sliced use and love Safari, when website developers cater for it of course!
Traffic are the messages or signals transmitted through a communications system. When used in reference to a website, a busy website gets a lot of traffic, or visitors. When used in reference to the streets in Brighton, UK, there is too much of it!
UNIX a widely used multi-user operating system, of which there are many yummy flavours, or versions.
To update is to give the latest information about something. When using a web content management system, website updates are manageable and cost effective, keeping content and news on a website up to date for visitors. A regularly updated website is a website well worth visiting.
Upgrading computers or software to a higher standard serves to improve them by adding or replacing components. Generally it is wise to upgrade systems and hardware where feasible, as technology improves with time.
To transfer data to another computer or server. For example uploading files onto a website, can make them available to website visitors.
Uptime refers to the time the Service is connected to the internet and is functional and operational.
This is the address of a resource on the Internet. World Wide Web URLs begin with http://. For example Sliced Ltd. URL is http://www.slicedcreative.co.uk
The term used to dictate the ease with which a program or system can be used by people with little computing experience. It can also refer to the visitor experience when using a website.
Used to differentiate a person logging into systems or computers.
These are the statistics which may be made available demonstrating the traffic which a website has. Visitor statistics can be presented graphically or by text. Very useful for defining amongst other things, geographical location of site visitors, operating systems used, referring URL's and much more. Some form of visitor statistics are vital to any Internet marketeer.
An HTML document that is accessible on the Web. Websites are made up normally of web pages.
A location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web. Websites make the world go round.
Referred to as the web, or commonly now as the Interweb, it refers to information available on the Internet that can be accessed with software called a "browser." What are we talking about here?
A meta language that allows users to define their own customised markup languages, especially in order to display documents on the World Wide Web. Widely adopted by forward thinkers as the way forward for the Internet due to its rigidity and rule based structure. Sliced try and make all of our new websites XML compliant.
Usually used to describe a small clickable version of an image which when clicked displays the image in its entirety. Thumbnails are often employed in galleries to allow the user to choose the image they wish to view in higher resolution or quality.
TCP/IP are protocols used to govern the connection of computer systems to the Internet.
Tags are a set of characters appended to an item of data in order to identify or label it. Tags are used in several capacities on the Internet, including meta tags and alt tags for images. The correct use of tags is important for accessibility and search engine optimisation.
Similar to ADSL, SDSL technology provides high speed Internet access which offers a higher speed both upwards and downwards to the Internet. For example currently standard ADSL lines allow 1mb transfer down to your computer, but only 256kb upwards from your computer, whereas SDSL may provide 1mb both ways. Ideal for sending large e-mails and serving websites amongst other uses.
A script is an automated series of instructions carried out in a specific order. Scripts are widely used on the Internet to perform all manner of functions like sending e-mails, opening new windows etc. Useful!
A search engine is a program for the retrieval of data from a database or network. The Internet has spawned some very large and powerful search engines, in fact one or two of the largest brand names on the planet are currently search engines. They play a vital, if sometimes frustrating role on the Internet.
A computer or computer program that manages access to centralised resources or services on a network. Hosting a website requires a server of some kind.
This is the term used to describe the marketing technique of altering a website to enhance its chances of being ranked in the top results of a search engine.
Software that is available free of charge and may be distributed informally for evaluation, before electing to purchase it, or be asked to make a donation to the creator(s) of the shareware application.
Software developed by Macromedia to create and distribute multimedia animations on the Web (see Flash). To support Shockwave files, a browser needs the appropriate freely available plug-in. Macromedia is now owned by Adobe.
A Sitemap is the visual overview of a website displaying the page layout plan usually in click-able hyperlinks.
A data transmission format used to send and receive e-mail.
Software is the program and other operating information used by a computer to perform tasks and functions.
Oh the joys of spam. Basically irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of recipients, who did not request, nor will ever request that information. A waste of our day!
A spider is a computer program that trawls the Internet to locate resources such as web documents. A spider indexes the documents in a database, which is then searched using a search engine. See also robot. Different search engine use different spiders to build their databases.
A computing protocol that ensures the security of data sent via the Internet by using encryption. If using an online store or e-commerce, it is important that information be passed using SSL to avoid 3rd parties from intercepting personal information such as credit card details.
Streaming media is the term for the ability to view multimedia whilst it is being transferred from a host computer, rather than having to download the file before viewing it.
To 'zip' a file or files is a way of compressing and binding data in a temporary state until 'unzipped' at the recipients end. Useful for packaging and sending large or multiple files.
A link is a code or instruction that connects one part of a program or an element to another. Also as described above a hypertext link will take the user from one areas of a website to another.
Accessibility laws have been introduced globally as well as in the UK in October 2004, which outline that people with disabilities require the same access to shops, offices, restaurants and just about anywhere, as people without those disabilities. This also includes access to website pages and online e-commerce. Currently there are millions of Internet users who may be visually impaired, or who use specialist website browsers which read out content to them, and websites now need to be created in such a way as to allow for easy access to any information for everybody. Accessibility rules cover 3 levels of access and Sliced recommend to anyone who has a website, or is considering building a website, that they ensure they meet at least the minimum requirements. Please contact if you would like further information, or see The World Wide Web Consortium for more details on how to make a site that is user friendly and legal.
A collection of items of the same type stored in a hidden or inaccessible place, such as in a web browser, information may be stored relating to recently visited website pages, graphics viewed and URL visited. In website browsing terms the purpose of cache is to allow the end users computer to save time by accessing cache for recently visited pages, rather than accessing these from the host server. Cache can be the website developers nightmare if pages do not update even after hitting 'refresh'!
A compact disc used as a read-only optical memory device for a computer system. Typically around 700mb of data can be stored on a CD Rom.
An area on the Internet or other computer network where users can communicate.
A computer system in which a central server provides data to a number of networked workstations or end users.
Some computer code that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect on the host computer. Virus' are prolific on the Internet and through e-mails. When asked, commonly Sliced may suggest using an Apple Macintosh computer to reduce the chances of getting computer viruses on your system.
A Content Management System (CMS) allows the end user to update content on their website with minimal technical skills or expensive know how. Sliced currently produce a web content management system which is browser-based. This means that the website administrator(s) can update the content on their website through any compatible website browser.
A packet of data sent by an Internet server to a browser, which is returned by the browser each time it subsequently accesses the same server, used to identify the user or track their access to the server.
Data refers to the characters or symbols on which operations are performed by a computer, and are stored and transmitted in the form of electrical signals. Data may be recorded on magnetic, optical, or mechanical recording media.
A structured set of data held in a computer. Dynamic website content is often stored in a database to allow information to be structured and altered.
A piece of equipment such as a microcomputer. Currently there are many producers of desktop computers, however Sliced still maintain that there is only one real winner - good ol' Apple!
A connection to a network or the Internet which is commonly made through a telephone line.
A directory is a system that a computer uses to organise files. Directories may be organised hierarchically so that files appear in a number of different ways, chronologically, alphabetically etc.
Also a directory when referring to the Internet is a website which lists or organises other related websites. An example of a large directory is the open source directory DMOZ.
Domain name system which looks after allocated domain names.
A domain name is a unique name that identifies an Internet address. For example Sliced Ltd. domain name is www.slicedcreative.co.uk The last letters in a domain name indicate what type of organisation owns the address: for instance, .com stands for commercial, .org for non-profit and .co.uk company based in the UK. Sliced would like to use www.sliced.co.uk but the domain has been previously purchased and we cannot afford the many thousands of dollars required to buy it from the current owner. All donations gratefully received!
A group of binary digits or bits (usually eight) operated on as a unit for the purpose of digital size measurement.
A switch or button on a website page may allow a script to be run, or allow an event to occur. Buttons may be in the form of a graphic or text link. As an example a button may be pressed which send an e-mail to the host computer.
A computer application usually with a graphical user interface for displaying HTML, javascript, XHTML files. A browser will normally be used to navigate the World Wide Web. Browsers are often created as free applications.
A person who has security clearance to perform website updates and tasks such as monitoring members and adding website content.
Freely distributed software made by Adobe for reading Adobe cross platform PDF documents. An excellent document type which can include graphics, text and multimedia.
Invented by Adobe Systems and perfected over 15 years, Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) lets you capture and view robust information - from any application, on any computer system - and share it with anyone around the world. Individuals, businesses, and government agencies everywhere trust and rely on Adobe® PDF to communicate their ideas and vision. (Source from Adobe website)
Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line, a method of routing digital data on copper telephone wires, allowing higher-speed Internet access than dial-up connections, and simultaneous use of the line for voice transmission. Now more commonly installed in both business and home situations.
Traditionally Affiliate marketing is where a third party advertises products or services on behalf of another company in return for an agreed commission for a sale or lead. It has become very common place on the Internet for obvious reasons.
Affiliate marketing has also proved very popular due to its "pay for performance" model which allows many affiliates to be taken on, whilst only paying out a reward to any affiliates who return actual sales results. Affiliates will usually be selected to ensure that they are suitable to market the products of their chosen partners.
Text that appears highlighted in a hypertext link and that can be clicked to open the target website page.
A small application, such a utility program performing one or a few simple functions. Commonly used to describe 360º panoramas and other applications.
American Standard Code for Information Interchange, a set of digital codes representing letters, numerals, and other symbols, often used as format for the transfer of text between computers.
Backbone is a high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a network. For example, a host company may be connected directly to the UK Internet backbone, providing high quality Internet access.
Backing up is the act of duplicating computer data, whether it be on an Internet server or on a computer, regular backups are vital to avoid loss of data. Data can become corrupted as it is purely digital, and physical damage can occur such as fires and floods which may compromise essential data. There are many forms of backup available, mostly dependent on the amount of data. Options range from removable storage devices such as flash cards and hard drives, to tape backup and mirrored computers. I don't know any single computer user who has never lost any data due to no, or out of date backup. But I am sure there are many lucky ones out there!
A range of frequencies within a given band, in particular the range of frequencies used for transmitting a signal. The transmission capacity of a computer network or other telecommunication system.
For example when a computer access a website page, the amount of data that is transferred (eg. Images, text, movies) from the server to the computer is the amount of bandwidth that is required for that page.
An advertisement appearing on a website page. Typically using graphics or animation, the banner will normally link the user who click on the banner to the advertisers website. Banners can be made from animated gifs, flash or by other means.
An autonomous program on a network and/or on the Internet that can interact with computer systems or users. Typically Search Engines use bots to gain information about website pages.
Bits per second - the amount of data that may be transferred per second, commonly across a network or across the Internet.
A measure of the resolution of printers, scanners and other devices. Typically graphics produced for the Internet will have a measurement of 72dpi. however printed material will typically require a resolution of 300dpi. This means that graphics which are created for display on a monitor (such as those on a website page) will normally not be good enough quality to print from.
To copy data from one computer system to another or to a disk. For example a file may be downloaded from a website and opened on the end users computer, or in their web browser.
Commercial transactions conducted electronically on the Internet. A website conducting E-commerce of some repute is Amazon, where products can be browsed and purchased.
The number of hits refers to the number of files that are downloaded from a web server when a website page is viewed. The number of hits a site receives is much greater than the number of actual visitors, because each file on the page is measured as a hit. This means that the hits is not representative of the number of visitors. A page may have 20 files on it (graphics, text blocks and documents for example), so one unique visitor may generate 20 hits on that one page. Unique visitors is the best way of identifying actual website traffic.
Hosting refers to a computer containing data or software that another computer or device can access via a network or modem. The host computer serves the files when requested by another computer. Hosting packages can include restrictions such as bandwidth, physical storage levels, e-mail accounts and more. Contact Sliced to see which hosting packages we can offer you for your website hosting!
This is the state of the mouse when it is resting over a button or link. The hover state can change the appearance of the button or cause an action to occur such as bringing up explanation or title text.
HTML is a standardised computer language system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web pages. most websites use a form of HTML to some degree as this is the world standard for website creation. See also XML.
HTTP refers to the data transfer protocol used on the Internet and is the method used to transfer hypertext files across the world wide web. Hypertext transfer is simply the transfer of hypertext files from computer to computer. Hypertext transfer protocol is the set of standards used by computers to transfer hypertext files.
A software system that links one element on the screen to related information and/or graphics and files elsewhere. Any link which you click that takes you to another document or web page is a hypertext link. Hypertext is useful on websites as it allows a kind of 'turning pages' or navigation that is possible with a physical book.
An icon is a symbol or graphical representation on a program, or piece of software which represents something. Icons are often also links and can present a user friendly way of navigating around a website.
Image maps are positions on a graphic which when clicked are links that take the user to another specified area. A map of the UK for example may have several image maps on it (often invisible to the user), which when clicked take you to a website page about that region. Once again useful for creating a user friendly graphical representation which can help to navigate around a website.
Sometimes also called access providers, Internet service providers are the remote computer systems which connect your personal computer to the Internet. It is the Internet service provider that enables your computer to access the world wide web, and often where your e-mail is sent out from if you use a pop account. In the UK there are many many ISP's such as BT internet, Bulldog, NTL, Telewest and Tiscali to name but a few. The ISP can offer a range of ways of connecting to the Internet depending on their network, such as through telephone dial up, ADSl and SDSL. There is normally a charge for their service and is best investigated before committing to a contract.
A piece of work or perhaps an invention that is the result of creativity, such as a book or a design, to which one has rights of ownership and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright or trademark. Website designs, photography and coding may be subject to intellectual property rights.
Internet telephony refers to the conversion of analog speech signals used on telephone systems to digital data, which allows telephone calls to be sent over the Internet. Often this will be provided at no cost whatsoever if 2 users are using the same providers software. Good bye to those huge phone bills that we used to have to live with! With the roll out of broadband and faster connections, more and more Internet telephony services will be available, as the Internet provides an excellent network for digital voice data to be sent almost instantly.
An IP address is a unique string of numbers separated by full stops that identifies each computer attached to the Internet. Every time a computer accesses the Internet it is assigned a unique IP address, setting it apart from all of the other computers connected at the same time. Often these IP addresses are allocated by the ISP, and may differ each time the same computer disconnects, then connects again. There are an awfully large number of IP addresses, and we are soon going to have a whole lot more, as more people wish to log on to the old web.
ISDN is a telecommunications network through which sound, images, and data can be transmitted as digitized signals. In many ways the precursor to ADSL, often used by graphic design and printing companies. Less popular today, but still has strengths to offer.
Javascript is an object orientated general-purpose computer programming language designed to produce programs that will run on any computer system. It is often embedded within an HTML document to provide some further interactivity or animation that would be too complicated to make with a mark-up language.
The JPEG or JPG is a format for compressing images, and is widely accepted as one of the most effective ways of compressing images for the Internet. Images need to be compressed or website pages would take an aeon to load, and the jpg allows for compression without (hopefully) destroying the effect. Where an image has been too greatly compressed - it is common to see 'jpegging' - or data destruction in some of the pixels, and may also appear as blurring.
A line or block of text appearing at the top of each page or section of a website, book or document. Stemming from the title still used by newspapers. The header is an excellent way to catch the reader's eye, before embarking on the content text, drawing in the reader to your story. Headers also provide a valuable asset when optimising a website for search engine purposes.
Or hard disk drive. A high-capacity, self-contained storage device containing a read-write mechanism plus one or more hard disks, commonly inside a sealed unit. Drive capacity now is approaching 1/2 terabyte of data information. Now how many songs is that!
Messages distributed by electronic means from one computer to another computer via a network. This modern form of communication has become the preferred method of communication for many individuals and companies as near instant delivery of messages can be achieved, although this is dependent on the type of data and the speed of the mail-sever, Internet connection and other factors. When was the last time you sent a fax?
The unique address, often associated with a domain name. E.g. administrator@slicedcreative.co.uk may be an e-mail address.
The process for converting information or data into a cipher or code, often used to prevent unauthorised access to the data. Passwords and other information may be encrypted to stop unauthorised use.
A file or computer containing a list of questions and answers relating to subjects. Sliced use an FAQ website page to answer general questions about our content management system. It is a useful way of providing a lot of answers to predicted questions.
File compression is a way of reducing the size of one or more files, so that they take up less space on a server or hard drive and may travel more quickly over a network. When using graphics on a website, it is ideal to compress the files as much as possible without compromising image quality, as the web page will load more quickly.
Firefox is an award-winning Web browser. Firefox, as most website browsers is distributed freely. Sliced recommend this particular browser highly as it is regularly updated and easy to use.
A part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorised access while permitting legitimate outward communication. Firewalls are typically either hardware or software depending on the rigidity and data storage requirement.
A computer program made by Macromedia (or Adobe now) which enables the user to create animations, website pages and elements of a website page. The file generated for use on the Internet by Flash on the Internet has a suffix of .swf and creates a self contained applet. Flash can be used in a variety of ways including the ability to handle dynamic data, database interaction and animation.
A modern data storage device containing flash memory that has no moving parts and does not need batteries or a power supply.
A flexible removable magnetic disk, typically encased in hard plastic, used for storing data. Also called diskette. Mostly defunct now in favour of flash based, or hard drive storage.
When used on a website a form may be used to capture data, or send an enquiry over the Internet. Typically the recipient of the form will receive an e-mail with the data completed by the user. For example a contact form may be used on a website.
A place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged. the Internet provides an excellent medium for forums as many people can access a forum from all walks of life and exchange knowledge and information.
A standard for the exchange of program and data files across a network. Often used to upload data onto a website. Sliced web content management system now incorporated the uploading of files and images via FTP as bulk images and files can be uploaded in one go, as oppose to individually through a browser.
A line or block of text appearing at the foot of a web page, book or document.
A format for image files, with built-in data compression. Best used for images which incorporate linear and/or solid areas of colour, without areas of shading. Also for animated image files.
search engine marketing is similar to search engine optimisation and incorporates coding, keywords, analysis of statistics and other SEO services.
A search engine marketing firm will offer search engine marketing services to help companies improve their search engine placement. This can inlcude 'pay per click' services, or 'organic' search engine marketing.
Seo company - see SEO firm
Seo copywriting is the term for writing text for a web site which takes into account keyword repetition, density and other forms of search engine optimisation.