One of the great things about search advertising is that there is a wealth of hard data out there that can tell you how many people are searching for a particular keyword before you bid on it. When you serve advertising on a search engine results page you reach people who are searching in order to take an action either now or later. On the other hand,

If you've launched a new ad campaign with us this summer, chances are you've already seen the option to target consumers by Age & Gender. But just in case you haven't' AdBrite now offers Age & Gender targeting in addition to its standard demographic targeting options. Simply select which gender and age group(s) you wish to .

by Claudine Zap ... Campaign hits heat up. From the Swift Boat veteran who brought you "Unfit for Command," the book he co-wrote to damn John Kerry in 2004, comes Jerome Corsi's next questionable opus, "Obama Nation." (Not that we're conspiracy theorists, but say it out loud and it sure sounds like "abomination.") ... Getting their (political) fix. Political junkies were out early searching for " obama nation book " (+227%), along with " obama nation " (+122%).

What happens when Google buys a company? Sometimes, as Slate's Farhad Manjoo argues, the company and its product will enter the Google black hole ... not to be heard of again for a long time (or ever), with new sign-ups closed and existing users growing impatient. [Thanks Farhad!] [By Philipp Lenssen | Origin: The Google Acquisitions Black Hole | Comments ] [Advertisement] Want to advertise here? Your ad will show in the blog and feed.

In response to the horrified rabble over how contacts are shared in its Google Reader application, Google has taken a step back from designating anyone who exchanges messages on Google Talk as friends and sharing that content with Reader users. The issue came to light last December when Google linked up Reader with its Google Talk chat app to make shared items visible to friends from Google Talk. When a user logged into Reader,

As summer begins to wind down and kids are beginning to dread the sound of school bells ringing, there is one more chance for a little getaway: Search Engine Strategies, San Jose 2008. While we expect the California sun will be out and there will be plenty of margarita's to go around, there will also be some really great sessions and speakers that those of you in search marketing won't want to miss. So if you're planning to be at SES San Jose next week,

In a battle for universal search engine foosball domination, Google and Yahoo are meeting in a clash of the titans at SES San Jose . Microsoft has also been invited, and is trying to put together a team. This could determine the future of the search industry (well foosball-wise at least). So come to the Networking Cocktail Reception on Tuesday. Play will start as close to 5:15 PM as possible, so we can get the games done prior to the end of the reception. Bring your cameras,

And boy do we love it. The Search Engine Strategies conference is right up our alley. Google will be there in force, sponsoring the show, with a giant booth for AdWords and Google Analytics. Googlers will be headlining or participating in numerous sessions, and we're all looking forward to meeting interested users and hearing what you think about our products. Google Analytics has been given a 20% discount code: 2OG00 (two-oh-gee-zero-zero).

A common question we're asked by clients is how can they improve their rankings for Google Maps local searches? Having analysed many listings, in my opinion the main factors to Google Maps listings in the UK are as follows: 1) Distance to location - the closer your registered business address is to the centre of a town or city, the more relevant Google will find your listing to a locational search.

Mary Bowling, a senior SEO professional at Blizzard Internet Marketing, joins ClickZ as an Expert, offering insights into local and mobile search in a column every other week. Blizzard's a full-service online agency that specializes in the travel and hospitality industries. And travel is very location specific, thus putting Mary at the forefront of trends involving local search.