Noted search marketer Andy Beal thought he had a scoop earlier this week when he did a little rough calculation on a presentation made by Google click fraud point person Shuman Ghosemajumder and pegged the actual occurrence of click fraud at 2% on Google. There was actually a little miscommunication between Beal and Ghosemajumder (since corrected on Andy's blog). I chatted with Ghosemajumder this week and here's Google's side of the story, largely ignored by the mainstream press.

In its effort to entrench itself in the search community, MSN has made significant investments not only in technology and personnel, but in the area of research as well. One such example is Microsoft adCenter Labs.

Dear Barry: I know you might prefer to be called Mr. Diller, but since I reached out to you through this column and you've taken my advice (a mere 20 months later), the first-name basis is appropriate. Let me say that you've done a great job with Ask City, creating a local search site that plays to InterActiveCorp's strengths. Still, there are ways you can use IAC's resources to make it even better. Here are some suggestions....

Last week's announcement of a Yahoo reorganization wasn't necessarily a surprise. Yahoo's been hurting for a while now; and some kind of streamlining has appeared inevitable--especially after Senior Vice President of Communications Brad Garlinghouse came out with his "Peanut Butter Manifesto," in which he complained that Yahoo is spreading itself thin, like peanut butter on toast. What's surprising and delightful is just how smart Yahoo's reorg actually is.

Without a doubt, Google spearheaded the idea of "relevancy," and both Google and Yahoo helped the search channel explode. They did this by providing measurable and effective results through their systems and approaches. However, BusinessWeek's recent cover story about click fraud revealed the dark side of paid search advertising and the inherent risks with content and search distribution networks. While some networks increase reach and relevancy as well as deliver qualified traffic to advertisers, there are many that just disseminate others' content and ads for profit.

Things are changing in the SEM world. At the Search Engine Strategies Conference Chicago, it's more than the ice-cold winds off Lake Michigan that are blowing. These are the winds of change. There is a palpable sense that we're moving into a new era in search.

In my last column, I focused on the actual challenges of search optimization in an enterprise development scenario. Here are a few additional solutions for dealing with each of the common problems encountered in the planning and design of enterprise Web sites.

It's no secret that you can use research to support any case you're trying to make, but when the data's released by a search engine, it highlights some of the challenges in understanding search research.

Last week, the Interactive Advertising Bureau unleashed a new campaign to push online media. As online still takes only 5.8% of all current media spend, the campaign--complete with the fabulous slogan "Media More Engaging"--is entirely welcome. But I also think that the campaign, which focuses on how online media's targeting and metrics allow for better engagement, sells online media short. Because engagement is really only part of the story.

Many folks at SEM firms--myself included--spend a great deal of time banging the drum about how much you can gain from using technology to bid, and how much efficiency can be gained from using a good bidding agent. However, experience has taught me that there are situations when a bidding agent simply isn't the right tool for the job. Now that I'm older, grayer, and somewhat wiser, I know that the reason for this has to do with how sophisticated bidding systems work.