Last week, I started my conversation with Jim Lecinski, author of the new ebook from Google: "ZMOT, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth." Yesterday, Fellow Search Insider Aaron Goldman gave us his take on ZMOT. Today, I'll wrap up by exploring with Jim the challenge that the ZMOT presents to organizations and some of the tips for success he covers in the book.

First off, I must apologize to fellow Search Insider, Gord Hotchkiss, for stealing some of his thunder here. Gord first talked about ZMOT in his May column on the blank slate (or lack thereof) in marketing. And, last week, Gord featured Google's Jim Lecinski, ZMOT pioneer, in the first of a two-part interview. As for me, I referenced ZMOT in a June column that covered 26 things every marketer needs to know about Google today from A to, you guessed it, ZMOT. And I had planned on covering it again in this column, as it's the first I've written since …

Sadly, last weekend saw the passing of Amy Winehouse. As a search marketer, I immediately turned to my faithful friends, the search engines, to learn more about the story. As I began searching for details on Saturday, one thing became clear: Google once gain has lost its edge in searches on breaking news. The recent expiration of the Google-Twitter agreement certainly put Google at a disadvantage (and still does) in reporting breaking news quickly, as evidenced by the news of Winehouse's death.

Of the 14 posts in this content marketing series, this one has been the most difficult to write. The reason? Accurately measuring the impact or ROI on a content marketing strategy can be difficult and, while there are a number of really good ways to get at measurement, you'll never get to measures like those from a PPC or retargeting campaign. Still, measurement is important and definitely worth doing. Moreover, the SEO that content marketing enables is very measurable, and correlative value can be assigned to content marketing efforts as a result.

Enterprise paid search marketing is complex, and each day it grows incrementally more complex. New advertiser options, more sophisticated ad-serving technologies and new entrants to the SEM auction are near-daily occurrences. And if that wasn't enough, sophisticated analytics communicate return on investment (ROI) to the penny, which in turn encourage advertisers to spend aggressively within an identified threshold. Layer in millions of queries performed daily around the globe and in numerous languages, and you have a very intimidating environment for the lay advertiser to navigate.

A few columns back, I mentioned the new book from Google, "ZMOT, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth." But, in true Google fashion, it isn't really a book, at least, not in the traditional sense. It's all digital, it's free, and there's even a multimedia app (a Vook) for the iPad. Regardless of the "book" 's format, I recently caught up with its author, Jim Lecinski, and we had a chance to chat about the ZMOT concept.

Back in 2008, I wrote a couple of columns about ICANN's new vanity generic top-level domains (gTLDs), where a person or business could now register ".anything" for the purpose of creating an open registry, or reserving it for primary brand sites. There have been many stories promoting this new development as a boon to one's natural search presence, but I beg to differ on a number of those points. One thing is clear, though: Marketers using new gTLDs will not only have to manage their sites for search and social visibility, but will also have to manage the entire gTLD …

As an employer, I look at a LOT of resumes. I've found that whether you're new to search marketing or a seasoned veteran, there are certain approaches you can take to enhance (or at least not sabotage) your chances to land your perfect search marketing position.

As I wind down this long content marketing series, I thought it would be a good idea to chide the many marketers out there doing everything right in their content marketing strategy, except for one key thing: They're not marketing their own content. And that's kind of silly.

Fellow Search Insider Gord Hotchkiss wrote a great piece last week entitled "What's So Interesting About Google Anyway?" If you were on vacation, I would highly suggest that you read it. It turns out there's plenty interesting about Google -- and Gord does a good job describing why. The rise of Google is well-documented, but what is also interesting to me is how Google continues to dominate. On the heels of yet another great Google earnings report yesterday, there are lessons for us both as marketers and businesspeople.