Nokia CEO Stephen Elop knows exactly how to drive up sales for the ailing company. Some experts believe the partnership is not in either company's best interests, but I disagree. In fact, it puts Microsoft in a much stronger place in the mobile market and gives Nokia an in to support advertising and near field communications (NFC) services.

Bing began testing two types of search queries to better understand human behavior and increase the relevance of results -- not only organic, but paid search, too. The tests running in the United States focus on results based on previous searches, and results based on location.

The cost per click (CPC) for the keyword "roses" rose from 5 cents on Feb. 1, to $7.67 per click on Feb. 12, according to a study released Thursday. It turns out that consumers increasingly go online to search and buy Valentine's Day gifts, find a restaurant for that special dinner, or simply get information on a favorite destination -- even in 2010 during a wilting economy. So it's just as important to optimize Web sites, as well as design paid-search ads and landing pages to complement both types of online marketing campaigns.

The combination of portals and search remains an ongoing topic that some would just as soon sweep under the rug. But in the coming year, search engine marketers will learn to optimize both. MSN, which sits in a Microsoft division losing money, has been directed to drive traffic to the company's search engine Bing. Scott Moore, partner and regional executive producer for the MSN group, told Signal L.A. conference attendees Tuesday that MSN editors have begun to curate results for the search engine.

Editorial content could generate inventory to sell without relying on third parties. Google employees already write blogs on everything from mobile to enterprise to public policy to search. It wouldn't be a stretch to acquire a publisher like Search Engine Land and sell ads against the content. Let's hypothesize.

Super Bowl watchers didn't see another Google ad this time around, but they did get a look at a BMW ad touting a continuous investment in America. That's an interesting message sent by the first Super Bowl ad BMW ran in more than 10 years. Voices of the company's associates at its manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina tell the story.

The Internet has become a resource for Americans seeking answers to health-related questions. Similar to researching products before purchase, consumers research ailments and cures, as well as reputations of doctors before and after seeking advice. The move online also has spurred mobile applications and Facebook pharmacies.

Marketers were tuned into a little surprise Wednesday when they discovered that IAC/InterActiveCorp expects strong momentum in its search business to continue through 2011. It appears that toolbars are the key. Toolbars -- browser add-ons that help people search directly without visiting any Web site -- drove a majority of the company's quarterly search revenue in the fourth quarter of 2010. Who would have guessed?

Search marketers who think they've heard it all might want to give it another thought. Google on Tuesday accused Bing of pillaging search results, which Microsoft denied. With the news came word that Google had set up a trap. It didn't occur overnight. In fact, the whole carefully planned and orchestrated sting took months. Another question now becomes, how does it effect Yahoo's search results?

Engineers from Twitter, along with Google and its newly acquired social company SayNow, built a workaround for folks in Egypt trying to get information out of the country. Launching the service on Monday, the speak-to-tweet service lets people post Twitter messages via a landline phone service by making an international call. Messages are tweeted using #egypt by leaving a voicemail on a Google-supplied international phone number.