Alex Cohen runs through an exhaustive list of paid-search signals that every marketer should know and understand. He tells us that advertisers and publishers incorporate around 43 signals that answer six fundamental questions to support the search and the searcher. So, Cohen explains the fundamentals before stepping into the details in a very detailed post. Among the signals, consider economics, behavior, social, interests, and demographics.

Use descriptive URLs to highlight the brand. Small tweaks can sometimes have a major influence on search engine result rankings. This advice is from Matt Jackson, who recently noticed a slight change to Google's layout for search results in the United Kingdom. He suggests Google's heightened attention to URLs means the search engine continues to put more emphasis on the brand in the string so searchers can find content quicker. So, Jackson explains what he calls "search velocity" to help identify structure of informative URL strings.

SEOmoz has released a biyearly search ranking report that surveys 134 SEO professionals to determine what influences organic search rankings most. The report finds a link to higher rankings in social metrics, with the greatest influence coming from Facebook shares, comments, and likes, followed by Twitter tweets. The report also analyzes keyword search results and provides insight into the future of search.

Bidding on keywords that are too broad or loosely linked to the business topic is one of the five search sins Julie Batten lists and explains. Although Batten points out what not to do, she also details what to do, whether or not marketers find themselves in a jam. Her hope is that she "can convert some search sinners into saviors."

Six Flags Parks launched a trivia game that made Ask.com the advertisers and Six Flags the platform. "Skip the Line" trivia game kicked off live for the summer season. The SMS, Q&A-style trivia game at three Six Flags locations aims to assess consumer demand for mobile interaction in the park. During an October trial, 9% of guests engaged in the game -- generating 90,000 texts, with 65% playing multiple times.

Searching for answers to questions has become the norm for consumers. Josh Bernoff calls these days the "age of disruption." Not just "disruption," but "continuous disruption," where the relationship with consumers is critical in order to survive. He lays out the disruptions and provides insights on how the relationship has changed. One of the more interesting comments he makes in the post: You stop incenting your sales force to cram the channel and concentrate on connecting directly with end consumers.

Bethany Bey tell us how to create custom reports in Google Analytics. She begins by explaining two basics -- Metrics and Dimensions -- then steps into creating, naming, setting filters, selecting the report type, setting metrics and report visibility, and more. Bey reminds us that these are the basics -- and there's so much more marketers can do with the free tool.

Aaron Wall makes an interesting observation about the Schema alliance between Bing, Google and Yahoo. He tells us that as more companies in a specific vertical use the schema, it no longer becomes a competitive advantage, but rather an added cost of doing business.

Marty Weintraub provides a full-on guide to optimizing Facebook ads. For months, the aimClear team has researched optimization metrics, what they mean, where they appear, and at what point marketers can edit them. The results of the study, along with insights and optimization recommendations, will be published in an upcoming book on Facebook ads from Wiley/Sybex. Weintraub provides an early look into some of the tactics and data.

Andy Chu, Bing Mobile and Local, gives us 10 tips for Bing's Business Portal. The BBP launched recently to help local businesses gain better listings in Bing's search engine and serve up more information to searchers about the content before clicking through to the Web site. For example, restaurants should include menus, use QR codes on marketing materials, and tie in links to the company's Facebook and Twitter pages.