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B-to-B: Abbreviation for business-to-business commerce or other industrial relationships; also B2B.

B-to-C: Abbreviation for business to consumer commerce, or simply: retail"; also B2C. On the web, retailing is sometimes called e-tailing, which is practiced by e-tailers.

B-to-G: On the Internet, B2G is business-to-government (a variation of the term B2B or business-to-business), the concept that businesses and government agencies can use central Web sites to exchange information and do business with each other more efficiently than they usually can off the Web. For example, a Web site offering B2G services could provide businesses with a single place to locate applications and tax forms for one or more levels of government (city, state or province, country, and so forth); provide the ability to send in filled-out forms and payments; update corporate information; request answers to specific questions; and so forth. B2G may also include e-procurement services, in which businesses learn about the purchasing needs of agencies and agencies request proposal responses. B2G may also support the idea of a virtual workplace in which a business and an agency could coordinate the work on a contracted project by sharing a common site to coordinate online meetings, review plans, and manage progress. B2G may also include the rental of online applications and databases designed especially for use by government agencies. According to the Gartner Group, B2G revenue is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2000 to $6.2 billion in 2005. B2G is sometimes called e-government.

Backbone: Very-high-speed, wide bandwidth transmission line forming a major pathway in a network.

Badges: Animated badges are a rich media type of sponsorship and they come in various sizes. Depending on their size, they are effective either for driving traffic to a specific site or area of a site, eCommerce promotions and branding a company or product. Because of their various sizes and shapes, they are placed in different areas, such as next to banners, in the navigation bar of a site, integrated into eCommerce services boxes or part of a "trading floor". They are most frequently used for eCommerce purposes.

Bait advertising : Advertising a product at a very low price, when it is difficult or even impossible to obtain the product for the price advertised.

Bandwidth: The information capacity, usually measured in megahertz or bits per second that can be transmitted by a particular line or cable, or managed by a piece of hardware or software.

Banner ad: Standard, rectangular Web ad that links to another site.

BBS: Bulletin Board System. Special-purpose electronic communications systems in which messages can be entered or retrieved either privately or publicly.

BCC: Blind Carbon Copy. The blind carbon copy feature of most e-mail programs permits you to send the same e-mail message to numerous individuals without revealing the recipient's e-mail addresses to each other.

Beyond the banner: This is the idea that, in addition to banner ads, there are other ways to use the Internet to communicate a marketing message. These include sponsoring a Web site or a particular feature on it; advertising in e-mail newsletters; co-branding with another company and its Web site; contest promotion; and, in general, finding new ways to engage and interact with the desired audience. "Beyond the banner" approaches can also include the interstitial and streaming video infomercial. The banner itself can be transformed into a small rich media event.

Billings: Total amount charged to clients, including the agency commission, media costs, production costs, etc.

Blurb: Short message about a business, product, service, or related topic.

Bookmark: Online reminder that flags a URL for future reference.

Booked space: This is the number of ad views for an ad space that are currently sold out.

Bounty program: A program that pays affiliates a predetermined flat fee for every new visitor the affiliate delivers.

Boutique: An agency that provides a limited service, such as one that does creative work but does not provide media planning, research, etc. Usually, this refers to a relatively small company.

Box ad: A square or almost square banner ad on a Web page.

Brand advertising: Brand advertising creates a distinct favorable image that customers associate with a product at the moment they make buying decisions.

Brand, brand name, and branding: A brand is a product, service, or concept that is publicly distinguished from other products, services, or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and usually marketed. A brand name is the name of the distinctive product, service, or concept. Branding is the process of creating and disseminating the brand name. Branding can be applied to the entire corporate identity as well as to individual product and service names. In Web and other media advertising, it is recognized that there is usually some kind of branding value whether or not an immediate, direct response can be measured from an ad or campaign. Companies like Proctor and Gamble have made a science out of creating and evaluating the success of their brand name products.

Break-even point: The exact sales volume where total revenues equal total expenses.

Brick-and-mortar: Refers to traditional, physical, as opposed to digital, structures and vehicles-factories, warehouses, trucks, and retail outlets. A brick-and-mortar company is one with little or no significant Web presence.

Broadband: Telecommunications bandwidth large enough to carry several channels at once; often to handle real-time video, e.g., cable TV.

Bulletin: An announcement of a special promotion, typically located on an unlinked page of a Web site.

Button/Bug: A small, usually square or rectangular ad in the following dimensions: 125 x 125, 12 x 90, 120 x 60, 88 x 31, or 120 x 240 pixels.