• SEMPO's State of Search Engine Marketing Report 2010
    The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) has released the results of its latest survey of more than 1,500 client-side and agency search marketers from 68 countries. The report focuses mainly on the core definition of search engine marketing -- paid search and SEO -- but also surfaces more data on what is becoming a new cornerstone of search marketing: social media marketing.
  • Privacy Rules Only Apply to New Products
    Let's face it: Facebook is a privacy disaster. From the Beacon disaster to Zuckerberg brazenly declaring that nobody wants privacy anymore (and that's why we're now supplying all your data to search engines), FB has led the pack in consistently compromising the integrity of our data. But oddly, nobody seems to care.
  • The Era Of APIs
    But why should search marketers care about the unfolding era of the API (application programming interfaces)? Quite simply, because APIs are at work reshaping the ways in which we understand search today, and will challenge our profession to stretch, grow and change significantly in the coming years.
  • How To Optimize Your Mobile Content
    I've been hanging out in New York for SES this week, and I wound up at the airport commiserating over crazy travel schedules with my friend Cindy Krum who has quite literally written the book on mobile marketing: "Mobile Marketing: Finding Your Customers No Matter Where They Are." It just hit the shelves a couple weeks back, so go grab yourself a copy and get the full experience. All I have for you today is some tips and pointers that Cindy passed on to me over a couple of hamburgers and sodas.
  • The Four Horsemen Of The Consumer Behavior Apocalypse
    Right out of the gate, let's assume that we all agree consumer behavior is in the throes of its biggest shift in history. And the cause is generally attributed to the Internet. While I don't disagree with this assessment, I believe there may be some misattribution when it comes to cause and effect. Did the Internet cause our consumer behavior to change? Or did it enable it to change? The distinction may seem like mere semantics, but there's a fundamental difference here.
  • What 19 Marketers Learned From Google
    This is the sixth and final column in a series I've been publishing in MediaPost featuring excerpts of interviews I've conducted while writing my book, "Everything I Know About Marketing I Learned From Google." Today, I'll share 140-character-or-less responses from 19 marketing gurus regarding the most important thing they learned from Google.
  • The Uncensored Search Uprising Of 2010
    I've got a movie scene in my head. It's not from an actual movie; it's a dreamscape compilation of every movie you've ever seen where a submissive population suddenly decides it's "not gonna take it anymore." The scene starts with one student or soldier or citizen standing up, despite the teacher or general or dictator yelling at him to sit down: "I'm warning you, Private Jones!" Another ordinary member of the community rises -- "Private Smith, you sit down right now!" -- then another, and then they all begin to rise in a rush, while the guy in charge yells …
  • Five Search Lessons From Show Business
    For the past few months I've been working after hours in a Beatles tribute band called The Meetles that plays three nights a week in the New York City subway system. Although my primary role in the band is singing and playing rhythm guitar, I also pitch in with online marketing chores, because I'm the only band member with SEM chops. Along the way, I've learned that search marketing and playing in a subway band have a lot in common. How so, you ask? Here are a few thoughts on the show business/SEM parallels -- you might find them helpful …
  • Back To Basics
    My fellow Search Insiders and I write a lot about innovation, new tools, and how our industry is changing. I can only speak for myself, but I can't help writing about these subjects -- this is a very exciting time for our industry. There's no shortage of new technologies to enhance intelligence or improve the operational efficiencies of campaign management. All this is fine, but the topic I see continually overlooked is best practices.
  • Search And Our Online 'Set Point'
    University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman believes that we have a happiness "set point." For example, winning a lottery doesn't really make us happier in the long run. We just ratchet up our level of expectation to accommodate our new circumstance. I believe the same is true about our feelings towards advanced technology.
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