On this date in 2006, I am prepared to declare that SEO/SEM works! The number of companies (both large and small) that have figured out a workable, ongoing, ROI positive strategy is impressively large. Yet rather than touting the successes, let's examine why so many companies haven't graduated from Search 101.

April has been a tough month. At last count, I've been in nine different cities (not including my home), a ski resort, on four different airlines for a total of two dozen flights and connections, in eight different hotels, at six different shows, and have also packed in assorted client and organizational meetings....

Remember the old days of the Internet? Users were typically male, had high annual household incomes and were well-educated. Well, what was once the definition used to describe the "Internet user" can now be used to describe the online financial searcher.

The evolution of search engines into answer engines is taking another step forward as Google quietly tests a new feature: expanded results.

It's about time we opened the click fraud can of worms. Most heads of state dodge the issue, opting for vague notions of "it is a concern" or "the media has sensationalized the issue." Both are true. Yet neither position offers advice to the advertiser preparing for battle.

Recently, Google's stand on click fraud went from "it does not exist" to "we have settled a class-action lawsuit for $90 million," to "Believe us, as computer scientists, we have the ability to detect the invalid clicks before they reach advertisers," (as the company's CEO was quoted in a recent Bloomberg article.)

I'd like to offer some reasons why we might continue to consolidate our search activity on the three most established search players, Google, Yahoo and MSN.

I'm the numbers guy. In an interactive agency full of creative, vibrant, idea people, I'm the guy wearing the Coke-bottle glasses and pocket protector who counts all of the traffic to our clients' sites....

You're about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of natural and paid results. A journey into a wondrous land of innovation. Next stop: the Hyper-Relevant Zone.

It's 5 p.m., and Keith and I are standing on the corner of 4th Ave and 13th Street. Our destination is Pop, a lounge located right across the street. For kicks, we decide to have a little contest to see which engine's SMS search service would be first to return the exact address.