Question 1

What are Algorithms?

Accepted Answer

This video is an introduction to the basic ideas of algorithms. It explains how computers, websites and digital products need instructions that answer the question “what should I do next?” in order to complete tasks, serve customers and gather information. It teaches:

Why algorithms are similar to offline customer service
How to think about and visualize an algorithm
Why algorithms run our favorite websites
How a popular music website might use algorithms

Video Transcript:

When you visit your local coffee shop, it’s a nice feeling when they recognize you.

You don’t see it, but you can imagine the barista following a set of simple instructions in their mind when you walk in.

It may go like this: A new person arrived. Do I recognize them? If no, say “Hi!” If yes, go to the next step. Do I remember their name? If no, say “Welcome back.” If yes, address them by name.

Every day, this process repeats and customers experience great service. For a coffee shop, it works well because the baristas remember dozens of regular customers.

When we use things like websites and computers, a similar process happens. These technologies rely on instructions that are programmed to make decisions like the barista in our coffee shop.

These sets of instructions are called algorithms and they are a part of nearly everything we do in the digital world.

For example, when we take a digital photo, move a mouse, or type a word in the real world,

But on the web is where you’re likely to see the magic of algorithms in action. Whether it’s search results, your news feed, or your favorite app, algorithms are working behind the scenes to figure out what to show you next.

For example, a popular website may have algorithms that, in a blink of an eye, go through thousands of steps for millions of visitors every day.

Consider a music website that must always account for new music, changing user tastes and their business. Designing better algorithms can be a big way that they make their website better.

Here, algorithms help them understand who their visitors are,

It’s going through steps like these and thousands of others that are the building blocks of algorithms on popular websites. And they matter. Teams of people are constantly designing and updating algorithms to reflect changes over time.

When they’re working as designed, they can make your favorite websites feel more personal and useful.

You may even start to feel like the website knows you better than your local barista.

This FAQ library was created by Eran Bucai as a free resource to help beginners understand the online world.

Eran is the founder of Dot Com Truths, a membership that helps entrepreneurs solve every day problems without the marketing hype or high ticket prices.

Eran lives off passive income thanks to affiliate marketing, his membership and freelance business where helps course creators and membership site owners with their software and technology challenges through 1:1 done-with-you services and information products.

Eran has a free Facebook group you can join. By answering the questions upon entry, you'll be given automatic access and an email with a free mini-course on how to start an online business. (keep an eye out for an email within the hour or requesting to join the Facebook group).

Question 2

What is affiliate marketing?

Accepted Answer

Affiliate marketing can help individuals earn a living by promoting products and services they love online. But how the system works is complicated and comes with important best practices. It teaches:

Why affiliate marketing is like word-of-mouth marketing
How affiliate programs provide links and graphics to affiliates
How affiliate links and graphics are used in promotions
How revenue is shared when a website visitor buys from an affiliate link
Why it is important to disclose affiliate program participation

Video Transcript:

Companies always need ways to reach new customers. Some may buy expensive TV commercials, pay to have ads on websites or even hire someone to dance at intersections.

But many companies know that nothing beats a friend telling another friend about a product they love.

It’s this kind of person-to-person connection that helped a new marketing idea become popular. It’s called affiliate marketing.

Meet Shauna, who has a popular blog about books. Among her friends and fans, she is known for great book advice and has started looking for a way to earn money for all the time she spends on the site.

Recently she learned that her favorite online bookseller offers an affiliate program. By becoming an affiliate, she could earn money by promoting books on her site. Here’s how it works.

Once Shauna joins the program, she gets special links, or even graphics, to use whenever she writes about books online. These links are unique to her as an affiliate. If one of her readers buys the book using the affiliate link, Shauna earns a percentage of the purchase price.

Over time, these small payments can add up and she can earn money by simply writing about and linking-to her favorite books.

Before using affiliate links, she did research and learned about best practices. Her fans love her website because she’s honest and authentic. They trust her advice. Because she earns money from their purchases, she has the responsibility to be clear about her participation in the program. This could mean adding a disclosure to her site or labeling affiliate links differently. Her fans don’t mind - they just want to know.

Affiliate programs are popular because they give businesses a way to reach potential customers, through people like Shauna. And when an affiliate helps someone discover something new, they can earn a little money that helps support their passion.

This FAQ library was created by Eran Bucai as a free resource to help beginners understand the online world.

Eran is the founder of Dot Com Truths, a membership that helps entrepreneurs solve every day problems without the marketing hype or high ticket prices.

Eran lives off passive income thanks to affiliate marketing, his membership and freelance business where helps course creators and membership site owners with their software and technology challenges through 1:1 done-with-you services and information products.

Eran has a free Facebook group you can join. By answering the questions upon entry, you'll be given automatic access and an email with a free mini-course on how to start an online business. (keep an eye out for an email within the hour or requesting to join the Facebook group).

Question 3

What is Google Chrome Incognito and how to use it?

Accepted Answer

Question: What is Google Chrome Incognito and how to use it?

Answer: Since none of your browsing history, cookies and site data, or information entered in forms are saved on your device, this means you can test any link, checkout page, affiliate link, and any page that you are creating in your website on this window as if you are a customer or a different person on the same device.

The easiest way to open a chrome Incognito window is with the keyboard shortcut combination **Ctrl-Shift-N **(Windows) or Command-Shift-N (macOS).

Another way is to click on the menu on the upper right – it's the three vertical dots – and select New Incognito Window from the list.

NOTE: It is recommended to create an alternate email address for two reasons:

You can test things signing up to pages you created on your own.
You can signup to a newsletter and receive marketing emails that you can use as a guide to learn more and improve your emails in the future!

I recommend opening a gmail account as follows: learning.yourname@gmail.com

This is explained in more detail in my private membership training in the "Email Marketing 101" training which you can find in DotComTruths.com.

If you have any struggles or have any feedback (good or bad) to this FAQ or any others, we welcome any feedback so our team can continue to improve and upgrade the quality of this support documents library. To learn more visit DotComTruths.com.

Thank you!

Question 4

What is a sub-domain? (subdomain)

Accepted Answer

A subdomain is a subset, or a smaller part of a larger domain. For example, my main domain is EranBucai.com.

This domain and website is with WordPress.

I have the following sub-domains...

Store.EranBucai.com, which is my courses and membership website. This link is hosted by Podia.

Go.EranBucai.com, which is my sales funnels sub-domain. This link is hosted by EranFunnels.com (my funnel builder).

For all my affiliate links, I have another sub-domain which is Link.EranBucai.Com which is hosted by another software that let's you create branded links. For example, here is a link for someone to make a payment to me through PayPal: https://link.eranbucai.com/PayPalMe or here is an affiliate link to buy the book Traffic Secrets https://link.eranbucai.com/TrafficSecretsBook

I also have a sub-domain for some of my free PDFs, which is under PDF.EranBucai.Com, this is hosted by a software that lets me design professional lead magnets to give away as freebies and build my email link. Here is a link example: https://pdf.eranbucai.com/starting-an-online-business-cheatsheet-pricing-products

There are examples of my own business.

Additionally, there is an excellent explainer video from GoDaddy which I wanted to share.

I strongly recommend, if you have not done so already, checked out the FAQ on how the internet works.

To complete the FAQ, here is a full transcript of the video:

Hi there. In this video, you’ll learn what a subdomain is and how they’re used.

A subdomain is a subset, or a smaller part of a larger domain.

To better understand the concept of subdomains, let’s dissect a domain name from the top down.

A complete domain name includes a Top-level Domain or TLD, and a Second-level Domain, or SLD.

The TLD is the part that occurs right after the last dot in the domain name; this is why TLDs are sometimes called domain extensions. In this example .com is the TLD. While there are several types of TLDs, the most common are .com, .org, and net.

The SLD, or second level domain, is the part that occurs immediately in front of the last dot in the domain name. In this example, it’s the name of the business. The SLD is what makes a domain name unique.

Now this part… right here… that displays before first dot in the domain name – it’s the subdomain. That’s right… fun fact: WWW is actually a subdomain.

The good news is you don’t have to use WWW for your subdomain; instead, you can replace it with almost any word to create a subdomain with a unique web address, without having to purchase a new domain name.

Subdomains function as an extension of a registered domain name, allowing you to send visitors to a different web address, or allowing you to point to specific IP addresses or directories in your hosting account.The most common use for a subdomain is organizing or dividing website content into distinct sections.

If your website has a substantial amount of content on a given topic, or there’s content on your website that you want to draw attention to, say for marketing purposes, you can create a subdomain for it. A subdomain sets this content apart from the main site and gives it a unique web address, without having to register a new domain name.

Consider the dog-friendly winery, Molly’s Bark and Wine.

During her first year of business, the owner has amassed a large online photo collection of dogs who’ve visited the winery.

To highlight the business’ unique dog-friendly atmosphere and provide a dedicated space for her expanding photo gallery, she creates the subdomain, ‘dogs’, under her registered domain name, mollysbarkandwine.com.

The WWW in her domain name is replaced with the word ‘dogs’ and the new web address for the dedicated photo gallery is dogs.mollysbarkandwine.com.

As an added bonus, this subdomain is treated as a unique website address and in turn, may drive new customers to her website.

Subdomains also offer a great way to create language-specific versions of websites or to accommodate information that may not be critical to the primary website, such as an events page, blog or store.

To recap, a subdomain is a subset of a registered domain name. Subdomains are most commonly used to divide websites into distinct sections that have unique web addresses.

Question 5

What is DNS? How does DNS work?

Accepted Answer

DNS stands for Domain Name System. To answer this question, here is a short video that explains.

To complete this FAQ, here is the transcript of the video:

Hi there. In this video, you’ll learn about a crucial part of the Internet – the Domain Name System or DNS.

So what is DNS? Well, it’s a translation system that allows us humans to search the Internet using language we’re comfortable with. Without DNS, the Internet as we know it would not exist.

For example, you couldn’t do your shopping online; you’d have to drive to an actual store to buy your things. There would be no way to stream music or videos to your smartphone, and no way to video chat with a friend across the ocean, or even across the street. But what does DNS have to do with this?

The Internet is made up of computers that are set up in large networks around the world. These networks are connected by a web of underground and, in some cases, undersea wires.

Computers on the Internet communicate with each other using strings of numbers called Internet Protocol or IP addresses.

Now it’s one thing for computers to communicate using strings of numbers, but imagine if we humans had to memorize these seemingly random strings of numbers for every single website we wanted to find – not very realistic, huh? Well because of DNS, we don’t have to.

DNS translates the human-friendly domain names that we’re comfortable using, into the IP addresses that computers need to communicate with one another. The process starts with you and your web browser.

When you type a domain name into your web browser, your browser and computer determine if one of them already has the domain’s related IP address in their memory.

If it’s a domain you’ve visited recently – like the newspaper website you visit every morning, your browser may have stored the domain name and its IP address in memory, and can display the website in a split second.

If the domain isn’t hanging around in local memory, your computer takes the search out to the Internet, where it asks, or queries, a series of DNS servers, if they have the domain name in their memory or database.

The first DNS server that receives the query, checks its memory for the domain name. If it doesn’t find the domain name in its memory, it sends the query on to the next DNS server to see if it can help.

As soon as the domain name is found on a DNS server, that server returns the domain name and its associated IP address to the requesting DNS server, and on down the line until it arrives back at your computer.

Each time a requesting DNS server receives a domain name and IP address, the server stores the information in its memory, so any future requests for the domain name can be answered more quickly.

Once your computer has the IP address for the domain name, your browser knows where to find it on the Internet.

Your browser uses your computer to communicate with the server where the domain name is hosted and requests any associated files.The host server returns the files which then display your web browser.

Our ability to use domain names to quickly and easily retrieve websites and files from the Internet is entirely dependent on this tightly integrated and tiered line of communication.

So the next time you buy a pair of shoes online, listen to some music on your smartphone or video chat with a friend on another continent… remember, it’s not magic that lets you do things on the web – it’s DNS.

Question 6

What is a Data Center? (Data Centre)

Accepted Answer

Data Centre is a giant complex of computer servers that host the internet. Think of your computer, it's small because there is a small amount of information stored.

But what about websites like Facebook? Amazon? Google?

These have a massive amount of data. The computers for these websites are many, and they are stored in what is known as Data Centers.

Here is a great video showing Google Data Center:

Here is a great video showing the Facebook Data Center:

Question 7

What is web hosting? (website hosting)

Accepted Answer

Website hosting is simply where your website is housed. Just like a home is housed on a piece of land, a website is hosted (or housed) on computer servers of website hosting companies.

Example of these companies are GoDaddy, SiteGround, Namecheap, HostGator, Domain, and many more.

To make your website visible on the Web, your website’s files and data must be physically stored on a computer that is connected to the Internet. These large, high-powered computers are called web servers.

Website hosts are companies that physically house several web servers in one location, or what is sometimes referred to as a data center.

These companies host websites for us individuals and businesses.

Some companies are so big, like Facebook, Google and Amazon that have their own hosting because they are so large.

Here are a couple of videos from GoDaddy that provide a great explanation on what is Website hosting:

Important note: While I greatly appreciate the wonderful video explainer from GoDaddy, they are not my recommend website hosting company. I recommend you buy your hosting from SiteGround.

Here is a transcript of the first video:

*Website hosting. If you’re not sure what it is, this short video may help.

To make your website visible on the Web, your site’s files and data must be physically stored on a computer that is connected to the Internet.

These large, high-powered computers are called web servers.

It is typical for website hosts to physically house multiple web servers in one secure location, that is commonly referred to as a data center.

In addition to housing the web servers, website hosts provide the software, security, support, and bandwidth that connects your website to the Internet.

To accommodate a wide variety of websites and customer needs, there are a variety of hosting solutions.

Hosting solutions are broadly categorized based on the amount of server space you need for your website files, and the amount of bandwidth your site consumes.

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data being transferred or the amount of resource usage your website requires.

Beyond server space and bandwidth, there are other things to consider when selecting a hosting solution.

Your budget, ease of use, product support, software requirements; the level of flexibility or customization the solution allows; as well as the availability of features such as privacy, security, marketing solutions, and more. *

Here is a transcript of the second video:

*Hi there! In this video, you’ll learn what hosting is and we’ll identify the four types of hosting available at GoDaddy.

To make your website visible on the Web, your website’s files and data must be physically stored on a computer that is connected to the Internet. These large, high-powered computers are called web servers.

Website hosts are companies that physically house several web servers in one location, or what is sometimes referred to as a data center. In addition to housing the web servers, website hosts provide the software, security, support, and bandwidth that connects your website to the Internet.

Think of a website hosting company like a shopping center that contains several individual stores.

If you want to open a store at the shopping center, you can lease space in it and set up shop.

Just like a shopping center, website hosting companies enable you to lease space on their web servers where you can store your website files and make them available for visitors to view on the Internet.

To accommodate a wide variety of websites and customer needs, there are a variety of hosting solutions.

Hosting solutions are broadly categorized based on the amount of server space you need for your website files, and the monthly amount of bandwidth your site consumes. Bandwidth refers to the amount of data being transferred or the amount of resource usage your website requires.

Instead, you could lease a small kiosk in the shopping center that gives you just enough space for your goods and costs far less money.

Between you and your mobile payment device, you have plenty of “bandwidth” to take care of your customers and don’t buy extra technology or hire more employees. Make sense?

Beyond server space and bandwidth, there are other things to consider when selecting a hosting solution. Your budget, ease of use or complexity of solution; the level of flexibility or customization the solution allows; as well as privacy and security features.*

Question 8

What is an SSL certificate?

Accepted Answer

Have you ever noticed that some web addresses begin with “http” and others start with “https?” The difference is that “https” means the site has SSL security.

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It’s technology that keeps sensitive information, like credit cards, social security numbers, user names and passwords out of the hands of cyber crooks.

Here is a short video from GoDaddy explaining what SSL means in greater detail.

Important note: While I greatly appreciate GoDaddy's wonderful explainer video, I do not recommend buying services from GoDaddy. Instead, I recommend SiteGround.

Here is a transcript of the video:

*Security is a big deal to everyone doing business on the web. Learn how to keep your customers and your business safe with an SSL certificate.

Have you ever noticed that some web addresses begin with “http” and others start with “https?” The difference is that “https” means the site has SSL security.

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It’s technology that keeps sensitive information, like credit cards, social security numbers, user names and passwords out of the hands of cyber crooks.

How? By encrypting - or scrambling - data while it passes between websites and web servers, keeping it from being intercepted. Once it reaches the intended recipient it is un-encrypted.

Thinking you don’t need SSL because you don’t sell stuff online? Think again. Your SSL certificate tells visitors you are the legitimate and verified owner of your site. Showing that you’re serious about security is a great way to earn trust.

To add SSL to your website, you simply install an SSL certificate. When your site has SSL from GoDaddy, a padlock icon as well as “https” appears in your customers’ browser bar to show that information they send to, or receive from, your site is safe from hackers.

You can also add an SSL site seal to your pages, to make it even more obvious to visitors that you’ve got their back.

And, bonus! An SSL certificate can boost your rankings in search results. Google and other search engines reward secure websites to encourage all website owners to get on board.

No business is too small or too new to protect its online customers and business reputation with an SSL certificate.

Question 9

What is the internet and how does the internet work?

Accepted Answer

What is the internet and how it works can be taken for granted. I strongly advise, if you don't really know how it works, that you take time to watch an 8-part video series from code.org (each video is extremely high-quality, well presented, engaging, short, and to the point).

When I first started online, I truly had no idea what things are. I found that series to be extremely helpful.

There are all sorts of terms and names you are going to hear when you are going to buy a domain name, when you are setting up a website, and so on and unless you understand these terms you are going to get lost and overwhelmed.

This series will answer a lot of terms like: HTTP, HTTPS, SSL, IP, DNS, and so on.

Have you wondered how does a song play? How does a picture load on a website? How does font become bigger or small? How are you able to send and receive a text message across the ocean?

All of this and more are answered in this 8-part video series.

This is the first video, "what is the internet?"

And to watch the rest of the series, click on this link for the playlist.

To get a copy of the glossary of common terms of online marketing and the internet, visit this website.

Question 10

What is the difference between a domain name and a website?

Accepted Answer

Below is a video explaining the difference, as well as a transcript of the video.

While I appreciate the wonderful video created by GoDaddy to explain this, I do not recommend using GoDaddy for buying your domain name. My recommended company to buy a domain name and hosting is called SiteGround.

Transcript of the video (italicized):

*Hi there. In this video, you'll learn the difference between a domain and a website.

While domains and websites are closely connected, they are two very different things.

After registering a domain, you need to do something with it, put it to work for you. Your domain can be used for a website, for an email account, or for both.

You can, however, register a domain and choose NOT to use it for a website or an email account BUT you can't have a website or an email account without a domain.

When used for a website, your domain name is what people type into their browser to find your site — this is why they are sometimes referred to as web addresses.

So godaddy.com is the domain used for GoDaddy's website.

Registering a domain, however, doesn't automatically create a website — it only means that you've registered the domain.

So for example, if you decided to start your own business and you thought of great name for it, you might copyright the name to protect it.

However, simply giving your business a name is only one of many steps that go into building your business.

In the same manner, when you register a domain and want to use it for a website, you'll need to first build the website, and then find a host for it, so it can be visible on the Web.

What's a host? Website hosts are companies that house, serve, and maintain files for one or more websites.

Think of a website hosting company like a shopping center that contains several individual stores.

If you want to open a store at the shopping center, you can lease space and set up shop.

Just like a shopping center, website hosting companies enable you to lease space on their web servers where you can store your website files and make them available for visitors to view.

Because you have registered your domain, you can use it at any web hosting company you want.

Remember your store in the shopping center? Suppose you decided to move your store and lease space at a different shopping center.

If you packed up your products and moved to a new location, you would still be able to use the same name for your store.

The same is true for your domain — regardless of where you decided to host your website's files, your domain remains yours for the duration of your registration.

GoDaddy is both a domain registrar AND a website hosting company — and we have the tools to help you build your website.

This means you can register your domain name, build a website for it, and get it on the web - all in one place.