alerts: notifications, typically in the form of a text or multimedia message, containing time-sensitive information (event details, weather, news, services updates) that are pushed to a mobile  subscriber who has opted-in to receive this information. note: if the mobile subscriber has not opted in to receive said information, the notification would be considered spam.

click to call: a service that enables a mobile subscriber to initiate a voice call to a specified phone number by clicking on a link on a mobile web site. typically used to enhance and provide a direct response mechanism in an advertisement.

click through rate (ctr):  total number of click on search ad, emails, etc. divided by the number of ads viewed, emails sent, page views, etc.

common short code (csc):  short numeric numbers (typically 4-6 digits) to which text messages can be sent from a mobile phone. wireless subscribers send text messages to common short codes with relevant keywords to access a wide variety of mobile content.

conversion rate:  the percentage of visitors/users who "convert" on the action of a web page, email sent or campaign. For example, actions may be purchasing, downloading content, calling a phone number, emailing or making an extended site visit.

dedicated short code: the process of running only one service on a common short code at any given time.

double opt-in: the process of confirming a mobile subscriber’s wish to participate in a mobile program by requesting the subscriber to opt-in twice, prior to engaging the subscriber. a requirement for premium and many other types of mobile services.

global positioning system: a system of satellites, computers and receivers that can determine the latitude and longitude of a given receiver (within its system) located on earth. it pinpoints the receiver’s location by calculating the time it takes for signals from different satellites (positioned at various locations) to reach the receiver.

location based services a.k.a. lbs.:a range of services that are provided to mobile subscribers based on the geographical location of their handsets within their cellular network. handsets have to be equipped with a position-location technology such as gps to enable the geographical-trigger of service(s) being provided. lbs include driving directions, information about certain resources or destinations within current vicinity, such as restaurants, atm's, shopping, movie theaters, etc. lbs may also be used to track the movements and locations of people, as is being done via parent/child monitoring services and mobile devices that target the family market.

mobile advertising:a form of advertising that is communicated to the consumer/target via a handset. this type of advertising is most commonly seen as a mobile web banner (top of page), mobile web poster (bottom of page banner), and full screen interstitial, which appears while a requested mobile web page is “loading.” other forms of this type of advertising are sms and mms ads, mobile gaming ads, and mobile video ads (pre--, mid- and post-roll).

opt-in:  the process where a subscriber provides explicit consent, after receiving notice from the mobile marketer.

opt-out:  the process through which a subscriber revokes consent after receiving notice form the mobile marketer. an example of an opt-out process includes, but is not limited to, a subscriber replying to a sms message with the phrase “stop”.  

pay per click (ppc):  paid search advertising is usually based on this model, where advertisers pay a bounty for each click originating from a source of traffic.  ppc is a search engine marketing service where the advertiser must pay on a per-click basis to generate traffic for the website.  the highest bidder” ranks the best.

return on investment (roi):  either mathematical or anecdotal analysis of payback for a project.

search engine optimization (SEO):  the practice of designing and writing web pages to be attractive to the search engines.  SEO attempt to place pages highly within the “natural” listing on search engines, as opposed to paid ads.

shared short code:  shared short codes are shared among customers and use keywords to identify their traffic which help to reduce to the cost and speed up the setup process.

wireless application protocol a.k.a. wap: an open international standard for applications that use wireless communication. its principal application is to enable access to the Internet from a mobile phone or PDA. can be used to deliver content to mobile devices.