Are you taking cookie tracking for granted? Cookies aren't always the best way to measure and manage campaigns. Kevin Lee analyzes what will replace the cookie. He points to the authenticated user, which some engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing already use. He gives us a list of authentication techniques and explains how this facilitates better ad targeting and validates impressions and clicks.

Naked Security urges companies fixing their Web site log-ins based on the Heartbleed hole in SSL not to send a link with instructions. It will just give the bad guys an excuse to go phishing or drop malware in the browser. Paul Ducklin provides some examples of how to write the letter, what to include, and information to send.

Search engine marketing continues to evolve, and with it the industry must discard some of the good stuff with the bad. The new search marketer needs to know how screen size influences consumer decisions such as clicking on an add to fill out a form or clicking on the phone number to make the call. Some of those decisions are influenced by social conversations within the community or the community influences the social conversations. One point I don't hear a lot -- the consumer's responsibility to share honest thoughts about a product or service. The new search marketer needs to …

The Interactive Advertising Bureau has appointed Scott Cunningham vice president of technology and ad operations. He joins the IAB from sovrn. Cunningham will support efforts in the digital advertising supply chain, responsible for implementing technical standards and developing best practices on crucial issues such as combating traffic fraud, improving ad viewability, defending against malware, and resolving other issues that impact IAB members and digital advertisers.

Microsoft has shuttered its travel flight price predictor, as Google announces a licensing deal with hotel search site Room 77. The Redmond, Wash. company acquired the startup Farecast for $115 million 2008. The tools forecast the best time to buy an airplane ticket at its lowest price.

Larry Kim wants to set the record straight. Marketers can still access referral data though the AdWords API, although paid-search query data is no longer being appended to referral URLs. Google announced a secure search update that will remove query data from the referrer on ad clicks originating from signed-in search across the company's network. Kim tells us how. It's also a topic that experts will discuss at the next MediaPost Search Insider Summit in Key Largo, Fla., April 28-30.

Search engine marketers need to accept the fact that concepts will replace keywords in search engine optimization, product listing or Shopping ads, and paid-search ads. As the online world evolves, so will SEO and paid advertising. Stagnation fosters dying concepts and strategies that will cost brands more in time and money than they can possible produce in profits. Here are some tips that help to put the evolution into perspective.

Google has struck a licensing deal with hotel startup Room 77 to provide better search results for those searching online for a hotel room. The Mountain View, Calif. company already supports hotel information in searches, similar to the way it provides data in Google Now cards used in Google Glass. The data will allow Google to add more photos, reviews and hotel listing that the Wall Street Journal says resembles travel sites like Priceline and Expedia.

There's a SEO checklist that allows marketers to determine whether their campaigns hurt or help the brand's cause. In a detailed post, Neil Patel runs through the warning signs such as the unwillingness to share their techniques, whether the site experiences a drop in rankings, or the site begins to rank for the wrong keywords. He also offers some advice on what to look for in an expert.

Here's a reality check on the challenges Facebook faces with Oculus and virtual reality. Ross Rubin suggests that Facebook will look to build a virtual world "far more ambitious than Second Life," where people can search for and interact with brand. It's a different take on the $2 billion acquisition and explanation on the social's site focus on mobile.