Google's share of the search market inched up by 1 percent in November accounting for 71.57 percent of all U.S. searches conducted during the month, according to Hitwise . Yahoo trailed landing in the second position with 15.39 percent of the search share representing a 5 percent decline from October. Bing also saw a dip of 2 percent and ended up with 9.34 percent of the search market. Ask saw its search share rise 1 percent to 2.65 percent in November. Longer search queries,

by Mike Krumboltz Getting chubby? Maybe it's not your fault. Recent research shows that the slow economy may play a significant role in expanding waistlines. When people are out of work, they still have to eat, but they can't afford healthy food. So, consumers go for cheaper, more processed foods.

At SES Chicago , there was an interesting session in which a group of search marketing professionals debated the issue of which is better between PPC and SEO. Participants included Dave Naylor , Chirstine Churchill , Michael Gray , and Karen Weber , and Rand Fishkin . Does PPC have more benefits than SEO? Comment here . Chruchill pointed to a study from Engine Ready on conversion rates by source of traffic (PPC vs organic).

OK, here's a good one. You own the distribution model for paid-for advertising. You allow advertisers to spend money to distribute their ads through your network using your name. You even take their money. Then you sue them for using your name. That's what Google is doing . Suing advertisers who use the Google name in pay-per-click ads on Google. Wait a minute. With all of Google's fancy schmancy technology, they can't block ads that use the keyword "Google"?

by Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. As the World Turns (Searches increased by 1,549%). Another knife in the heart for daytime soaps: The 54-year-old show will be canceled . Nicole Richie (+1,448%). Nicole Richie meets the queen (the real one, from England). Calls her a diva. Takes one to know one . Christmas gift ideas for her (+733%). Here's an idea: Ask. World of Warcraft (+364%). Say goodbye to your loved ones and grab a snack.

Here we are near the end of 2009 and at the last Search Engine Strategies conference of the year.  While many conferences are down in attendance, SES Chicago actually beat last year's numbers by about 100, according to Matt McGowan, VP, Publisher & Head of US at Incisive Media, the company that owns SES. There are many ways to get value from attending a conference but one that is especially important, and often overlooked,

Earlier today, I wrote about Google's Living Stories , the experimental new news platform the search engine created with the help of The New York Times and the Washington Post. Living Stories cried out for visuals and video demos though so I offer both here. Landing page: It's basically publishers' content streamlined on one page.

This is the 7 th post in the SEM Beginner Series, building off yesterday's post on Microsoft adCenter Editorial Guidelines . This series of posts is intended for new search engine marketing professionals that are looking for guidance to help identify, monitor and adjust the key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine the success of a PPC campaign. Previous posts in this series discussed click-through rate (CTR) , cost-per-click (CPC) , ad copy , dynamic text ,

After having our new sponsored link program in beta for the last 3 weeks, we're happy to announce that we've worked the bugs out (famous last words) and are opening it up to all users. To get started, simply click on the new "self-serve advertising" link in the footer on the front page, or, for the lazy, go here . All you need to get started is $20, a credit card * , and some time to skim our ToS (which can be summed up with: be nice, don't be sneaky,

There are a whole host of strategies that go into managing a major presidential campaign, from using social media to spread a message to developing analytics. (Coverage of SES Chicago continues at WebProNews Videos . Keep an eye on WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.) Dan Siroker, former Deputy New Media Director, Obama Presidential Transition and Founder of CarrotSticks spoke about his work on the campaign.