The SEMPO 2007 State of the Market Survey Results are in, and the data shows robust growth in the North American SEM industry year. Spending reached $12.2 billion in 2007, exceeding projections of $11.5 billion. In 2006, the spend came in at $9.4 billion. As a result, the projection for 2011 is now at $25.2 billion, up from the $18.6 billion projection set a year ago. Now that marketers are getting the hang of traditional search, many are looking to new channels,

Dogpile.com has released a desktop search widget. The widget features a single-search bar, which blends results from Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask.com. Dogpile's SearchSpy, which features searches conducted all over the world, is also included on the widget. But this isn't your average search widget. Dogpile's mascot, Arfie, is featured on the widget and you can pet him and play fetch with him. Awww!

Google warned us this would happen and beginning today , landing page load times will affect Adwords Quality Score. The reason behind the change is something that Google often touts: it's what's best for the user. Google argues that faster load times are better for users, so pages that load faster will be rewarded accordingly. In May, the Adwords team launched a load time metric to help you evaluate your pages.

Search Engine Strategies Toronto wrapped up yesterday. I'll be analyzing some of the new trends that I spotted in Canada over the next couple of weeks. But I wanted to share the top stories and blog posts for SES Toronto Day 2 this morning, so you can get a sense of the highlights from the SEM conference . Fredrick Marckini, the Founder of iProspect and Chief Global Search Officer of Isobar , gave the opening keynote. Mona Elesseily,

Semantic search engine, hakia , has announced the launch of Syndication Web Services. The new service will allow third parties to use hakia search on websites, mobile applications and document management systems. Site owners can offer hakia's generic search, implement a custom search, or utilize a vertical search on their websites. I spoke with hakia CEO Dr. Riza Berkan,

Call Scott Richter the $6 Million Man of MySpace. For the self-proclaimed "Spam King," lawsuit losses are becoming just another cost of doing business. "Spam King" Scott Richter must pay $6 million in legal fees and damages to MySpace for spamming subscribers in August 2006. The judgment was handed down in arbitration. Richter's company, Media Breakaway, won't appeal because the judgment is much lower than MySpace had originally sought.

Tech savvy UK teens are using Google Earth's aerial shots to create the latest summertime craze â€" pool crashing. The Register Hardware site confirmed several pool trespassing cases with local UK police. Google Earth is used to locate suitable pools and then Facebook is used to organize the pool crash parties. Teens begin by surfing Google Earth's satellite images to find houses with swimming pools. Once a target has been identified,

Microsoft continues on in their pursuit of Google , this time enhancing their digital media advertising offering. The Redmond-based software giant has announced the acquisition of Navic Networks, a provider of television advertising solutions. "Television media represents the largest percentage of advertisers and agencies' media budget today," said Brian McAndrews, senior vice president of the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group at Microsoft. "Together,

Paid search will take a lead role in online overtaking TV in the UK ad spending this year, according to Enders Analysis . Search ads are expected to surpass £2 billion, making up 60% of the online ad spend this year. The projections are in line with an e-Consultancy survey where 63% of companies said they planned to increase their paid search budget . Google will see 80% of the search spend, possibly more with the recent announcement of an ad deal with Yahoo .

Local search engine Local.com has announced the addition of ratings and reviews to their offering. Users can create a free account and give their opinion on businesses listed on the site. Ratings will use a 5 star system and users will be allowed to make comments to accompany their ratings. "According to Jupiter Research, 77 percent of online shoppers use ratings and reviews when making a purchase," said Kim LaFleur, Local.com vice president, product management.

Kate Knight, 28, from Wirral, was convicted of attempting to murder Lee Knight by lacing his food with ethylene glycol, had her appeal rejected by the Court of Appeal. The jury heard Knight used internet search engine Google to find a method of killing , settling on anti-freeze. Knight served the anti-freeze in red wine and Indian takeout on their wedding anniversary.

Weather delayed my arrival in Toronto for the start of Search Engine Strategies, but I was able to catch up quickly by reading what other journalists and bloggers were saying about the SEM conference . Here's a roundup of the top stories and blog posts that I found this evening: SES Toronto Day 1: State of Search Marketing in Canada Andrew Goodman of Traffick provides a brief update from conference-land. Hello from Search Engine Strategies 2008 Toronto! Joey deVilla,

Registration opened today for Google Code Jam 2008 . Programmers will use their coding skills, creativity, and ingenuity to solve a series of challenges. The top 500 contestants will win an all-expenses paid trip to the semifinals at regional Google offices, with the top 100 advancing to the finals at Google's Mountain View headquarters.

To compete in social media or with open source search applications, widget development is key. But it can be costly if you don't know what you're doing. iWidgets is demystifying the widget development process by launching their platform into public beta. The service is free to use and brings widget creation to a wider audience. "Private beta users were so enthusiastic about iWidgets, we knew the market was ready," said Peter Yared, CEO of iWidgets.

Last week, rumors were rampant that Yahoo's Network Division Executive Vice President, Jeff Weiner, would be leaving the Sunnyvale search engine . The news is now official , with an announcement of Weiner's new role as an Executive in Residence at Accel Partners and Greylock Partners, two venture capitalist firms. Weiner will split his time evenly between the two firms, advising leadership on their existing tech portfolios as well as consulting on new investment opportunities.

The SEMPO Institute is teaming with SIM Partners and i.c. stars to create search marketing career opportunities for young adults in Chicago. The president of SIM Partners, Jon Schepke, sits on the board of the SEMPO Institute. His company has been working with i.c. stars for over four years. "As co-chair of the SEMPO Institute, it made perfect sense to connect these two organizations when the SEMPO Institute launched in 2007," says Schepke. i.c.

Ever since the Yahoo! acquisition deal fell through , many have wondered what Microsoft will do to make headway in the search market. Shortly after, they launched Cashback , which seemed to indicate a dedication to build search internally. Then Bill Gates said that one of his post-retirement projects would be seach . Today, Microsoft is showing its commitment to developing Live Search with an announcement to build a Search Technology Center in Europe.

Playing on their popularity in the region , Yahoo! Mobile has announced the expansion of its search and advertising partnerships with Asia/Pacific companies. Yahoo! has scored 5 new partnerships with mobile operators agreeing to include oneSearch in their mobile search offering. Over 60 oneSearch partnerships have been developed over the past 18 months. Yahoo! Mobile is also rolling out new mobile widgets for the region including Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo! India Movies, MTV Asia,

Firefox 3 will be released today which makes today Firefox Download Day 2008. To build its user base, Mountain View-based Mozilla will attempt a Guinness World's Record for the most software downloads in 24 hours . You can download Firefox 3 here . Firefox 3 promises exciting new features, including one-click bookmarking, the smart location bar and lightning fast performance. Other features include built-in spell checking, session restore and full zoom.

If you are in or near New York Wednesday you may want to stop by Stich to see SEMPO's first 'Great Debate' - and I am on one of the sides )has not been determined since I have both backgrounds(. RSVP here if interested. There will be a solid turn out of search people, so could be a fun event. I am sure there will be people there blogging it for those who can't make it. Stich is at 247 W 37th St and the event starts at 6:30 - come early and grab a drink.