When performing a search on Google, there are two different types of results that show up: the organic listings and the paid, or sponsored, listings. Organically ranked sites are those which Google finds most relevant for that search query. The paid listings show up because an advertiser is paying money to be ranked that highly for those phrases. When a searcher clicks on one of those listings, the advertiser is charged the cost per click price for that ranking,

Who doesn't like when secrets are given away? I know I do, and I can't be the only one who thrives on search engine tips, rumors and gossip. This afternoon the expert panel of David Rodnitzky, Terry Whalen, Chris Knoch, Vinny Lingham and Chris Zaharias, we in the audience learned some new, exciting and potentially scary tips from these industry experts. Debunking 5 current SEM assumptions - the continued growth of the long tail, the 1,001 things to do in SEM,

Today the Expo Hall at SES San Jose opened. Time to collect astronomical amounts of swag and drop your business card to win a free iPhone! The expo hall every year is full of some of the best products and services available for any online marketing team, and this year was absolutely no different. This year they are giving away a pretty sweet Mazda3. If press were allowed to enter, I would definitely be taking this car home with me.

So, you've launched a search marketing campaign. You spent time and energy putting it all together and now it is live. So how do you track results of the campaign? The panel this morning at SES San Jose shares their knowledge on measurement and tracking in the communicative world of Web 2.0. Avinash Kaushik kicked us off this morning by talking about how challenging it can be to track results )traffic, links, visibility( from the content placed online.

Right after lunch today )which was pretty darn good ( was the first of the Orion Keynote presentations - a panel entitled "How Much Search is Enough?" Moderated by Kevin Ryan, this keynote panel discussed issues facing marketing budgets for search and traditional media, and how to make each piece of the marketing pie come together. On the panel this afternoon were Rob Murray of iProspect, Aaron Goldman of Resolution Media,

Last year at SES San Jose 2007, universal and blended search was the new thing going on in the background, and wasn't really talked about in the sessions yet. Over the past 12 months, Google's universal search and blended search has exploded across the internet. Everyone wants to know how to dominate the rankings on Page 1."Let's get pictures, video, local listings AND text results for my company all on one page!" Okay,

Viral makes you think of something horrible, right? Like an outbreak of a virus taking over the world's population and turning us all into zombies? Well, trust me, when it comes to online promotions and link building, "viral" means "success". During the session this morning, we heard a lot of fantastic tips for how to create and promote viral campaigns.

The TopRank team works really well together, bringing to each team meeting various areas of expertise and interest, which makes for a well-rounded environment here in our Lake Minnetonka office. We know how to play off of everyone's strengths and ensure our clients are fully serviced based on their needs and objectives by those who can best take on that role. Below is a list of our favorite online marketing tips , which - as a team - makes us stronger than each individual.

With all the sessions, speakers, networking and photo-snapping going on in the last 2 days at SMX Advanced in Seattle, it's surprising any attendee got anything else completed at all. While I didn't attend every session )can't be in three places at once - just not possible for this girl :(( I managed to get to quite a few where I learned a lot of valuable information and got a feel for what everyone was talking about.

While there is still a debate over the effect of the recession we are in, or even if we are in a recession at all, it seems most companies and individuals are preparing for it the best they can. Talks of budget cuts and conserving resources are on everyone's minds these days. So where does search marketing fit in to all of this? Our expert panel this morning at SMX Advanced - consisting of Jon Miller from Marketo , Russ Mann of Covario ,

Day 1 at SMX Advanced has wrapped up quite nicely. Below are some of the session highlights and the gorgeous Bell Harbor Conference Center. Danny Sullivan opening the show this morning in Seattle. Everyone milling around, getting ready for the first of this mornings sessions Blow Your Mind Linkbuilding Tactics panel this morning B uilding Value for your SEO Business session,

Watch out link-and site-buyers alike! Matt Cutts is in town! For those of you know don't know )is there anyone out there who doesn't?(, Matt Cutts is the head of Google's web spam team; which means any secret we are hearing at SMX Advanced, Matt is making sure the shady tactics aren't working anymore next week. Beginning with a pop culture comparison, Matt states that risky link building behavior is a lot like Milli Vanilli.

Technical issues flavored the beginning of this session at SMX Advanced in Seattle. However, "oopsies" notwithstanding, Blow Your Mind Linkbuilding Tactics was informative with plenty of advice for gaining the authoritative inbound links web sites need to rank well in the search engines. The session was packed with link builders looking for new and cutting edge linking information. While we listened, Roger Monti,

SMX Advanced is less than a week away, and let me tell you, I am excited. Not only is Seattle one of my favorite cities in the country, but the agenda for the 2 day long search marketing event looks outstanding. Along with the keynote speakers - Kevin Johnson and Matt Cutts - here are a few other sessions I am really looking forward to. SMX Advanced Day 1 Blow your Mind Link Building Techniques - Want to learn how to build a database of high-value link acquisition targets?

Two heads are better than one. How many times have we all heard that in our lives? When having a brainstorming session, it helps to bounce ideas off of one another to generate the best possible solution. Even when saving the world, is it always important to have a sidekick. Or a team of sidekicks. The same is true of link building teams. It can be considered a general rule of thumb to say "the more, the merrier" when it comes to the size of a team working on link building,

A big part of my responsibilities at TopRank involve the wonderful world of social media. As with search marketing, there is both an "organic" and an advertising component to marketing on social networks, news and media sharing sites. As social media usage increases month over month, marketers have found a way to use these popular sites as channels for promotion.

SEMPO Institute released their online training program for SEO and PPC late 2007. TopRank has previously written a review of the "Fundamentals Course" now known as the "Insider's Guide to Search Marketing". SEMPO Institute students that complete the Insider's Guide can then move on to the two advanced training courses, one of which is the Advanced SEO Specialist course .