This whole question of branding in search came about because of a rather fuzzy definition: what exactly is brand lift? How do you measure it?

Even the best search marketers underutilize the power of search. This is because they fail to mine the great volume of data that search provides and to understand what that data reveals about the customer and his/her perception of the product or brand.

The biggest prediction I'll make for 2009 is that it will be the first year where the device you search from will matter almost as much as what your query is. Having mobile scale as a viable search marketing channel will be the biggest driver, but this extends beyond smartphones. Consider how GPS is making in-car telematics mainstream. As I've been trying out some alternative devices lately, today we'll look at the search experience on the iPod Touch, Amazon's Kindle, and the Chumby.

Last week I was on a panel at DPAC (the Digital Publisher & Advertiser Conference) moderated by fellow Search Insider Aaron Goldman, of Resolution Media that focused closely on the issue of whether search is indeed "recession-proof." Here are some observations and advice based on my talk addressing this issue.

Some time ago, I heard about an investment fund with a simple philosophy: invest in companies with small, repeat-purchase products that people grow to believe they can't live without. What kind of product fits this description? My immediate assumption was cigarettes, but, as you may have guessed from the title, this fund's primary investment was in toilet paper companies. There may not be much margin in such a commodity product, but nobody would consider the purchase of toilet paper to be an either/or proposition.

Obviously, every journalist and pundit will be falling over themselves talking about the historic implications of this election. Democrats and Republicans alike were gushing and seemed a little speechless about the implications of Barack Obama in the White House. I have my own feelings but that's not what this column is about. For me, this election was fundamentally historic for another reason. It changed forever the fabric of democracy in America.

Considering that I am writing this column on election day in the U.S., I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what people are searching for on this historic day, courtesy of Google Hot Trends. Needless to say, the election is overwhelmingly on everyone's minds, but so are doughnuts, coffee, chicken sandwiches and other free stuff. In terms of search popularity today, voters win, and a few brands even win. Before we get into the Top 100 Hot Trends, let's take a quick look at the top campaign-related queries during the general election season (Sept. 1 through …

Meeting a self-described social media swami isn't necessarily a religious experience, but it's almost always a learning experience. At least that was the case when I met Shashi Bellamkonda, whose more formal title is the Chief Social Media Evangelist for Network Solutions.

Warren Buffett is well-known for his investment savvy, and also for his folksy wisdom, which successfully boils down complex subjects into morsels that most people can understand. Buffett has never been invited to be a keynote speaker at SMX or SES, but many of his pearls of wisdom directly apply to SEM. Here are a handful of popular Buffetisms that I've taped up in my office cube, because they're so relevant to major issues in search engine marketing today.