The long tail is wagging the dog....

One of the oldest truths in marketing is that it's easier to sell to returning customers than it is to capture new ones. That's undoubtedly correct in the bricks-and-mortar world, but it might be less accurate when it comes to e-tail. The source of that distinction lies in search.

It is a critical component of the day-to-day tasks that occur behind the scenes of any paid search marketing campaign. It is a necessary evil. It is something that does not need to be so complex and cumbersome--but often is. Simply put, it is customer service. But in this case it is the engine's service of its customer--the agency.

After looking at thousands of search sessions in detail, one thing is becoming clear. Searchers are incredibly adept at focusing in on just the portion of the results page that interests them. The time required to relocate to the prime real estate is literally a fraction of a second. Yet that real estate isn't always the same spot.

In my past two Search Insider columns I advanced a concept of relevant segmentation of consumer search. If my theory is right, then search strategy should be built off consumer behavior. This is one of those statements that often gets heads nodding--but doesn't get executed. Here's how I think it actually works in reality...

For most retailers, holiday shopping is undoubtedly the most challenging, competitive, and crucial six weeks (or so) of the entire year. And it's the time when small flaws in your search management can easily turn into serious issues. I bring this up now because it's July already--and the entire process of transitioning search firms is a long one.

In my last article, I predicted that the days of advertisers accepting standardized ad rates based only on yearly readership or viewership audits and not bottom-line business results are ending--sooner rather than later. Looks like sooner just became now....

Jakob Nielsen knows a lot about usability. He's perhaps the world's foremost expert on how people use Web sites....

Last month I attended my 10-year college reunion, where the first question out of most everyone's mouth was, "What are you doing these days?" As soon as I got back to New York, I ran (of course!) vanity searches on Google on almost everyone I spent time with because, hey, I am in the search business....

Those fingered in a game of "Clue: Media Edition" included Ms. Blog in the den with a $30 iPod microphone, Mr. Craigslist in the attic with a free classified ad, and Colonel Search Engine in Mountain View and Sunnyvale with a new media paradigm....