Since maturing as an online marketer, Josh Dreller doesn't add paid search to every campaign. He brainstorms the entire digital media mix before eventually adding search advertising to the plan, he writes. Here he details nine paid search problems and the solutions to solve them Predictive spending, research an standing out in the crowd, are among the pointers Dreller provides.

Take the time to participate in social networks, blogs and forums to keep your skills on the cutting edge. Donating SEO expertise pro bono can not only boost your online reputation, but help you excel in your career as a search marketer, according to Joanna Batten. She writes that it's a chance to tweet about hot topics and trends to help boost your SEO profile and gain recognition as an industry leader.

Display advertising combines two unattractive qualities: a lack of transparency and a lack of efficiency, according to Andrew Goodman. He points to Jonathan Mendez's post that seems to agree that new exchanges will only make the problem worse by driving down media costs even further. The market segment could become a haven for performance advertising at the expense of publishers, Goodman writes, citing Mendez. Goodman outlines where he thinks the DoubleClick ad exchange may lead the industry.

Tom Demers explains how to "attack a niche" for those just getting started. After selecting a niche, identify the best keywords. Demers walks you through four steps for choosing and optimizing keywords. He writes that once you have invested time and energy into identifying the best keyword opportunities, keep an eye on how they perform. "The fact that any keyword tool (even ours) tells you a keyword is important doesn't mean you'll be able to rank for it, and certainly doesn't mean you'll be able to convert the traffic it sends," he writes.

How often does Google use the keyword meta tag in the main search engine results and ranking? Matt Cutts says "not at all," and in a video explains why. Even today if one company sues another company, some courts mistakenly believe Google relies on meta tags in the main search query. That's not to say that Google doesn't use any meta tags. It does for the Google search appliance, which supports site search, so you can specify only return results if they match a meta tag. The Mountain View, Calif., search engine will also use part of …

Bill Slawski likes to search on a term, tweak it slightly, and then search again even if he's satisfied with the terms returned on the first query. He tells us about University of Washington researchers who published a paper on how people search on the Web, and how those searchers might reshape and rewrite the query terms they use when trying to find information on a subject. Slawski writes that the patterns in query reformations provided by the researchers might help searchers, site owners and search engines to provide better results to searchers.

Analyze the overall mix of the campaign, identity who or what sends the site traffic, and consider the source. Tom Demers explains how to extract meaning quickly when traffic on your company's Web site jumps or declines and you're asked to explain not only what happened, but why it happened. Screen shots walk you through a variety of features in Google Analytics. "While you could certainly do more in-depth analysis than that outlined above," it's a good start for small small business owners and small marketing departments to get a quick handle on the way that their numbers …

Web sites need passive and active SEO. Tad Chef defines both before providing a detailed example to support his thesis. He writes that passive SEO is when you create a resource once and then gain long-term traffic and sales on the Web site with little effort. It works on "autopilot." Active SEO requires you to continually create content or build links for content on blogs or Websites. Chef provides insight on finding topics to write about for blog posts and Web site content. He suggests checking search analytics for questions that get asked repeatedly, as well as well …

In a interview, Chris Silver Smith and Eric Enge discuss the ins and outs of local search. Enge digs into a variety of topics, from tips on getting Web sites to rank well in local search, to the best way to clean up an aggregator that doesn't manage and monitor data well. For example, when Enge asks for ways links and Web references can improve query rankings, Silver Smith goes into a lengthy explanation. He begins by explaining that Google uses as many ranking factors as possible in an effort to broaden sources and stop people from exploiting …

Despite Brian Carter's blog post earlier this week giving four reasons why "SEO blogging sucks and why you shouldn't do it," Lisa Barone thinks blogging still offers value. Blogs gave companies a voice, it bred authority before Twitter came along, and delivered a bunch of links, she writes. Blog are a differentiator, help to start the conversation and allow clients to get to know a company better.