• by Rob Garner , December 22, 2010

Another year at an end, and another year-end list. Here are my Search Insider columns for 2010, catalogued with some additional thoughts. Thanks for reading.

Marketing In The Moment - My sort of mini-treatise on the new landscape of search and social, the new speed of content dissemination, and what it means to marketing and advertising as a whole.  Also, here is a link to an accompanying presentation I gave at numerous conferences this year, including SIS Captiva, and NYU's graduate school of marketing.

More On Marketing In The Moment - Part 2 of the series.  This is much bigger than just search marketing, folks. 

How to Think About Content Like A Forest, Not A Weed --Looking at the big picture for content strategy puts everything into focus, for both search, and network-based marketing.

SEM Session: Thumbs Down For Keyword Tools - Coverage of the SMX East NYC conference.  The Google Keyword Tool sputters into a crash-and-burn out spectacular, in front of a live audience.  

 
In The Long Run, Balance Wins The Race  -- It's easy to see what works for search, but it is much more difficult to balance it with other areas of importance, and also play nice in the sandbox. 

 
Steve Rubel Backpedals On Death Of SEO Post -- A highly paid PR executive solicits search advice from his anonymous readers in the comments section of his own blog, after positioning himself as the "search expert."  Is it link bait, or just loss of credibility as an online marketing strategist?  You decide.  Either way, it first helps to know what you are talking about when tossing out digital Molotov cocktails.

Ramping Up For a Bigger Content Publishing Strategy -- To play big in the new world of network marketing, marketers must position themselves as publishers.

Don't Believe Everything You Read In The Paper -- The New York Times calls for the Google's head, but I launch a defense of the engine's right to algorithmic freedom of speech, and address the so-called concept of "search neutrality."

Google's Shocking Change Of Heart On Net Neutrality  -- Shortly after my patriotic defense of Google's right to algorithmic freedom, the company back-pedals on its net neutrality stance.  Upon hearing the news, I begin to feel like a complete jerk for having defended Google so staunchly in the prior column.  I'm sure this was also highly embarrassing to a lot of people who work at Google (and probably still is), many of whom are vocal defenders of net neutrality.

 
Ambient Truth: In Search And Social, Headlines Are The Message -- With content dissemination moving at the speed of real time, people have shifted their interpretation of content's meaning from the content and message itself, to its respective headline, and the social authority that passes along that title and link.  Damned scary in many ways, particular considering how fast content travels within networks -- just ask United.

Search Engines In The Physical World -- We're still at the beginning with the growing position of search engines in our daily lives, and it is moving from the desk top, and more into the physical world. 

Could This Be Google's Privacy Moment? -- Google's Street View data collection snafu gets the world up in arms, but will having multiple governments crying foul be enough to force any changes?  Maybe not, because nothing ever seems to stick.

The Google Privacy Plot Thickens --Ooh, Scotland Yard is now on the case.  Plus, I gripe about data collection apathy. 

 
Takeaways From SMX Toronto - A few highlights from SMX in Toronto 2010.

Hot SEO Trend for 2010: Getting Back To Basics . It's time to quit worrying about 10 years in the future, and just focus on the moment.  There is more than enough to do for your website, even if it's what might be referred to as "basic."

 
First Page Or Bust: 95% of Non-Branded Natural Clicks Come From Page One - Here are our findings from a survey of millions of queries from Fortune 1000 level brands. 

The Days of Guessing at Keyword Research Are Over. Specific info on how to use search to inform personas, prior to redesigning a website. 

Designing Web Sites For Search Visibility - Something of a sequel to a previous column, this one reiterates important considerations for redesigning a website.

More About Search In The Web Design Process. A "follow-up to my follow-up," if you will, on using search in the creative process and how to use search to inform personas. This column also reviews a relational approach to website architecture.