Amber Benedict explains why tinkering with the various AdWords campaign settings is fun (and necessary), but also why you have to be careful with the levers you push. For example, the "position preference" setting lets you choose to only have your ad shown in a specific spot or range of spots. "I have used the position preference tool in Google before but I didn't notice that it can be a tricky tool to use and the results can be disappointing," she says. "Not because my ads may not display in the position I expect to be in, but because my …

Details about Microsoft's newest Live Search "sweetener" program were sketchy, but now they've come to light. It's called Search Perks, and it's sort of like the rewards programs that come with most banking cards. Users download an Internet Explorer app called a Perk Counter that tracks the number of Live Searches they run. They incur "tickets" for each search query (up to 25 per day) and get a bonus of 500 tickets just for installing the app. Tickets are redeemable for prizes like music downloads, frequent flier miles and even cookbooks, and the Search Perks program runs …

Simon Abramovitch takes a rant and turns it into a lesson in perception, arguing that mainstream media writers don't really "get" search. The article that sparked his diatribe was from Newsweek, and the topic was marriage -- or rather infidelity -- and the author cited Google search results in the first sentence. Google the words "marriage and affair" and you get more than 17 million variations on how to heal. That's because "fidelity in marriage"-which only gets about 3½ million hits-is a hard thing to come by these days."  "Reading those opening lines, I cringed, took a sip of sweet, …

They've been hinting at it for quite some time now, but Noah Mallin reports that he's actually seen display ads in Google SERPs. The banners were running alongside image search results for the "Partridge Family," as well as "John McCain." Both examples highlight the difficulty that stems from precisely targeting banner ads, as neither ad was relevant to the initial query. They also muck up the clean, simple search interface that has been Google's hallmark. But Mallin thinks that it may have been done on purpose. "On the initial evidence it would appear that Google is testing placement …

How well is your site search functioning? If the tool is not pulling up relevant content, or it's a pain in the neck to use, Stoney DeGeyter says that you may be better off without it. "When site search is available on large sites, people tend to use them. That's good," he says. "But if they search for something you have but the search doesn't find it, they'll assume you don't carry it. What do they do from there? They'll move on to the next site. That's bad." DeGeyter says that a good site search tool …

First Google set up an information hub about the proposed search deal with Yahoo, and now Yahoo has followed suit, launching the Yahoo Search Agreement site. The company acknowledges that people may have heard about the deal from "just about everybody: your coworkers, your competitors, your daily blog, and -- who knows? -- maybe even your taxi driver." So they set up a site to dispel any misinformation (and hopefully, engender some positive public opinion). "Among the items you'll find there is a blog post from our President, Sue Decker, that busts some myths about the agreement," the …

Real estate search engine Zillow is evolving into an overall homeowner's resource, going up against established services like ServiceMagic and Angie's List that connect homeowners with contractors like plumbers. The caveat is that the Professional Services Directory won't feature ratings and reviews. "The Directory uses Zillow's 150,000 registered real estate salespeople as a base, but expects to be adding adjacent categories, including stagers, lenders, contractors, landscapers and architects," says Peter Krasilovsky. "Consumers can then search for professionals by specialty, business name, city, ZIP code or neighborhood."

A paid search campaign needs four fundamental factors to be successful: the right keywords, a thoughtful account structure, an aggressive bidding strategy to start, and ongoing analysis. John explains these fundamentals clearly in his post. Choosing the right keywords is ... well, key, because the right ones will "give you the ability to target PPC ads specifically to those looking for related products and services, or avoid showing your ads to users who are not likely to purchase from you," he says. Meanwhile, small, organized ad groups help you maintain higher Quality Scores and CTRs. John …

Ann Smarty reviews the features of Facebook's Fan pages and Groups, and determines that they're both useful to social media marketers in different ways. Fan pages are best for crafting long-term relationships with fans, readers or customers. You can promote them with social ads and include apps."Unlike groups, fan pages are visible to unregistered people and are thus indexed (important for reputation management, for example)," she says. Facebook Groups on the other hand, are best for "hosting a (quick) active discussion and attracting quick attention," Smarty says. Marketers can send out bulk invites and recipients can …

Holly Buchanan uses the homepage structures of two dating sites to show how Webmasters can cater to spontaneous or methodical visitors. She dubs spontaneous visitors as those that just want to jump in and take action. "They can get answers to their questions later," Buchanan says. Methodical visitors, on the other hand, want their questions answered before they click, join or otherwise get further engaged. Match.com is geared toward the former, as there's just one image, one call to action, and even a special offer designed to help users jump right in. Plentyoffish.com is the complete opposite. "New …