• Efficiency Levels, Not Spend Levels
    At the MediaPost Search Insider Summit last week, my colleagues Kevin Lee and Brian Silver had the opportunity to sit on in the Insider's panel. At the end of the talk, the floor was opened up for the crowd to request future articles they'd like to see. I hope to get to all of the topics that came up; for today, I'd like to tackle just one: the issue of how to know how much to spend in search.
  • Vendor Search Innovation
    Vertical search is an area in considerable ferment. Much VC funding has flowed to the area, under the assumption that the big search players are so broad that there is opportunity for sites devoted to specific niches....
  • What's Up With Verticals?
    You probably haven't given a lot of thought lately to vertical search results, that thin sliver of search real estate that is sandwiched between the top sponsored ads and the top organic ads, and generally shows a few lines of news results, or local, or products. I have. Don't panic, there's really no reason why you should have....
  • Is Your Search Engine Listening?
    I recently came across a paper written by Google and the Center for Neural Consumption at Hebrew University describing "social and interactive television applications" that allow your computer to listen to your television, determine what you're watching, and display relevant Web applications. Imagine watching Rachael Ray on the Food Network and having a Web site pop up with the recipes she's using, along with a chat room for people who have cooked that particular dish.
  • The Gospel From The Keystone Mountaintop
    If you're looking for the one key takeaway from MediaPost's Search Insider Summit in Keystone, Colo. last week, you're out of luck; you're getting 20. Here's a rapid-fire roundup of the most interesting, pressing, and memorable issues, questions, and controversies that arose during the event.
  • Push Search Marketing Into Marketing
    I think that the search industry needs to start distinguishing between search engine marketing--which is more branding-focused--and search engine sales, which is about the final conversion. The two concepts are different.
  • Dating: The Perfect Metaphor For Picking A SEM Vendor
    So you are looking for that perfect someone--someone who understands you. Someone you can trust and depend on. I think you can see where I'm going with this. Much of the criteria you would use in selecting a life partner also apply to selecting a professional services firm--a search engine marketing firm in particular.
  • The Rule Of Three In Search
    Once again, I find myself up to my earlobes in eye-tracking data. I have no one to blame, as I got myself into this mess when I made the well-intentioned but poorly thought out promise to have the first draft of a study done by the time I head out on vacation at the end of the month....
  • Holistic Search Campaign Management--Measuring Conversions Against The Lift
    In my natural and paid search campaign management experience over the past several years, I have often heard a common misperception about holistic search, mostly from clients who were new to the medium. It goes like this: "If we're ranking in natural (or paid), then we don't need the other one."
  • Dude, You're Getting a Blog
    Imagine you're a major computer brand. Your once-sterling reputation for customer service has eroded, and an A-list blogger made it to the A+ list by chronicling his frustrations with you. Then, one day, your product spontaneously combusts at a Japanese conference, the photos of which circulate widely online. What do you do? Dude, you're getting a blog.
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