In this Business English Vocabulary lesson, we’ll look at activities related to search engine marketing, or SEM.
Companies use SEO, or search engine optimization, to improve a web page’s SERP position. This involves activities such as link building as well as on-page optimization, in which advertisers use keywords to attract search engines. Accepted approaches to SEO are referred to as White Hat SEO and attempts to trick search engines are called Black Hat SEO.
In this Video Vocab lesson, we look at English vocabulary related to Internet marketing.
One of the most common approaches to Internet marketing is PPC, or pay per click advertizing, with ads displayed on websites organized into content networks. The ads are sold by CPC, or cost per click, to advertisers, who hope for a high CTR, or click-through rate. The ads are linked to landing pages, intended to encourage visitors to make a conversion. To measure effectiveness, advertisers use analytics software to determine the CPA, or cost per acquisition.
Imagine you’re on an airplane during a flight across the Pacific. You have to spend several hours seated right beside another person. You want to be friendly and perhaps find out what this person does and who this person is. So you turn to him or her and open your mouth to speak.
And what do you say? How do you start a conversation and then keep it going? Well, in any kind of travel situation it is useful to know some common topics and techniques. Today, we’ll look at asking a person about their destination and their purpose for traveling. We’ll also learn how to invite detail by echoing, identify a point of intersection, and summarize your work.
In the dialog, we’ll join Connie and Scott, who are sitting beside each other on a flight to Hong Kong. Connie starts up a conversation with Scott and uses many common and simple, though not always easy, ways of making small talk with strangers in a travel situation.
Listening Questions
1. What is the purpose of Scott’s trip?
2. What do Scott and Connie find they have in common?
3. What kind of work does Connie do?
Traveling, whether for business or pleasure, will put you into all sorts of situations with people you don’t know. They could be sitting beside you on a train, in an airport lounge, or on a ferry ride. And what if you want to strike up a conversation with these people? What can you say to get the conversation going, and to keep it going?
Well, making conversation with strangers is a useful skill, and there are some great techniques you can learn for these situations. Today, we’ll look at how to start off a conversation by commenting on your surroundings, as well as how to ask about someone’s travel. We’ll also learn about reacting with interest, telling a personal story, and giving your name.
In the dialog, we’ll hear Scott and Joe, who find themselves sitting next to each other in an airport lounge waiting for their flights. Scott strikes up a conversation with Joe, and the two demonstrate a typical interaction that you might hear between two travelers.
Listening Questions
1. What is Joe and Scott’s first topic of conversation?
2. What does Joe mention that Scott shows interest in?
3. At what point in the conversation do Joe and Scott introduce themselves?
Microsoft has been busy since CEO Steve Ballmer announced his retirement last summer. On top of buying Nokia, introducing a new tablet lineup, and tweaking Windows 8, they searched high and low for a viable replacement for Ballmer. Even with the recently announced hiring of Satya Nadella as CEO, last year may have been Microsoft’s annus horribilis.
