In the last three columns, I explored the fundamentals of humans seeking information. To refresh your memory, the purpose of this series is to explore the importance of branding on the search page. Taking several steps back to begin my run at this topic (and risking a series that is “long and extremely wind baggy,” in the words of one reader), we’re now starting to get at some of the important concepts to understand how we interact with a search results page.

My last column laid out thoughts on holistic SEM in a number of areas (’The Semantics of ‘SEM Strategy’). This week, I want to talk more about the basic elements of the search marketing channel, as it relates to overarching enterprise search marketing strategy. This is very basic information about SEM, but worthy of revisiting, as I’m still finding that many in the industry and on the client side are strategically polarized either towards paid search media, or natural search. In effect, those that hold on to these notions have an incomplete view and practice of enterprise search marketing strategy.

Forget the subprime collapse; the Internet is where it’s at for investing in real estate. Given the near-infinite number of Web pages, and the exponential addition of new ones, you would think that online real estate would be easy to come by. Unfortunately for advertisers, widget-makers, and plug-in developers, this isn’t the case.

We can debate in-house versus SEM agency, SEM nomenclature, the definition of strategy, and whether “to integrate or not to integrate,” but the one point we can all agree on is the fact that approximately 50% of online ad spend is now dedicated to paid search. The empowering force behind this un-sexy, “hard to believe it’s winning” media is data. Data is also what’s driving high valuations in social media and at the heart of the battle of the big three engines and the greater media world.

There is much debate in the search engine marketing industry over the implications of the Google/Yahoo deal. Arguments regarding the pros and cons have flooded industry publications, and it seems everyone has an opinion. In order to properly formulate an opinion, let’s first consider the characteristics that make paid search so attractive to advertisers….

The third in my series in looking at how we search and how it might impact our brand relationships. Today, I look at how the emergence of Web search marks a dramatic leap forward in our quest for information.

That’s the conclusion I came to after the whirlwind that was Search Insider Summit Captiva Island plopped us back onto the mainland, crushing the Wicked Witch of the Silo. Now, we’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Integration. But will he be as elusive as the great Oz? Join me as I muster the brains, heart and courage to make the journey to Emerald City 2.0 — a place where digital media reigns supreme and search is embedded into the platform, not a channel unto itself.

With the acronym DAO (digital asset optimization) floating around everywhere these days, it’s easy to wonder if DAO is replacing search engine optimization (SEO). The answer is no; in fact, DAO can best be described as the evolution of SEO, which isn’t dead but just rapidly changing.

There’s an old legal maxim that anyone who chooses to represent himself in court “has a fool for a client,” and this saying exactly describes the plight of companies who choose to represent themselves in search using in-house teams. I frankly don’t know why this silly debate goes on and on. I’ve been doing SEM for more than 10 years, and I’ve never, not once, seen a search campaign created by an in-house team outperform one crafted by a competent SEM agency. But because this issue, like some grotesque zombie from the Land of the Undead, refuses to go away quietly, I’ll use this column to put an end to this fruitless discussion.

A search monopoly is inevitable. Now, what are you going to do about it? The Laws of the Universe dictate that it is impossible to write a search column this week about anything other than the fall of Microhoo and the rise of Yahoogle.