Increasingly, marketers are going beyond standard site metrics and examining user behaviors to measure the effect of online advertising on engagement and brand image and compare results to television and other platforms.

Below are some of the most commonly used terms used in analyzing online advertising effectiveness so that you can banter buzzwords with the best of them!

Clickstream
Clickstream data provides an indication of the upstream and downstream traffic to and from a website/industry. Clients can use this information to analyze the traffic generation strategies of their competitor's websites and understand where traffic moves to once it leaves a website or industry.

Upstream
The websites/industries visited immediately prior to visiting the profiled website/industry.

Downstream
The websites/industries visited immediately after visiting the profiled website/industry.

Session
A session is defined as a continuous series of URL requests, running applications. Logging off or 30 minutes of computer inactivity ends a session. (Differs slightly from a Visit which only considers URL requests.)

Visit
A visit is defined as a continuous series of URL requests. A gap of 30 minutes between URL requests would end a visit. (Differs slightly from a Session which also considers running applications.)

Active Internet Universe
Active Internet Universe describes people who are 2+ and used an Internet-enabled computer within the time period.

Sources: Nielsen/NetRatings, Hitwise