Google has offered businesses and brands some advice on maximising their pay per click (PPC) investment.

On the search engine's AdWords blog, Amanda Kelly said that due to the current downturn firms need to concentrate more on engaging price-conscious consumers.

It takes more to promote a website than search engine optimisation and pay per click alone, one sector commentator claimed.

Carrie Hill, in a post for Search Engine Watch, explains that website owners also need to focus on building up a brand that users can put their trust in, identify with, remember and come back to.

Despite continuing to lead in the search engine market, Google has admitted that social media marketing such as Facebook poses a threat to its dominance, reports suggest.

Google Group product manager Ken Tokusei claimed that when it came to searching for advice, some users did not trust the typical list of links that search engines provide, instead preferring to use recommendations from friends.

There may just be one week left to go until the public can use Microsoft's new search engine, which several commentators have speculated will be called Bing.

Greg Sterling, in a post for Search Engine Land, claims that the name is likely to be unveiled at this week's AllThingsD conference, while the public should be able to use it following next week's SMX Advanced conference.

While Twitter may be used by many as a useful social networking device, it could also prove useful in the search engine optimisation (SEO) campaign of businesses who want to build their rankings, it has been suggested.

Writing in a post for Search Engine Watch, Mark Jackson said that website content could be "king" if firms ensured they widely promoted it.

In search engine rankings, a well-known brand is likely to rank as the number one link and get around half of the click-through traffic, but this leaves another 50 per cent of users for lesser-known brands and firms to attract, one sector commentator has claimed.

Distilled's Rob Ousbey, in a blog for SEOmoz, states that many websites already appear to be getting creative in order to boost the number of clicks they can achieve without simultaneously improving rankings and he offers a number of tips for doing so.

A number of new features to the Google Suggest tool have been unveiled - one of which could be of particular interest to online marketers.

Sponsored links may also now appear in the Google Suggest box, although these will, for the time being at least, only show beneath other suggested completions to what is being typed.

There remains large room for growth in the use of social media as a tool for generating sales, new research suggests.

A study from consumer information provider Knowledge Networks suggests that, currently, less than five per cent of social media users turn to such platforms when making purchase decisions.

It is believed that Microsoft will unveil its new search engine upgrade at the approaching D:All Things Digital conference next week, a report claims.

Writing for the event's website, John Paczkowski notes that the search engine is code-named Kumo and is the latest attempt by the software firm to launch a major competitor to continuing search leader Google.

Whether an internet user is a high school pupil or a company worker, the use of social media can transform the way people do business and live, one commentator has claimed.

In a post for Search Engine Watch, Erik Qualman states that the rise in popularity of social media means that inferior firms and brands can no longer hide behind large marketing budgets.

The new search engine Wolfram Alpha is already monetising its results after launching just yesterday (May 18th), one sector commentator has claimed.

In a blog for Search Engine Land, Matt McGee states that an advertisement for Lenovo's ThinkPad has been spotted on a page that appears to present simple maths-related queries.

Today (May 18th) marks the launch of new search engine Wolfram Alpha - a tool that is claimed to be able to answer questions put to it with specific answers, rather than a list of links.

The facility - developed by Wolfram Research - is made up of a large library of algorithms and will also act as a research facility and graphing calculator for users.

Despite being a relatively new feature in the social networking map, US traffic to Twitter has risen four-fold over the last 12 months, taking it to 17 million.

The figures by comScore reveal that it is now a "decidedly mainstream web attraction", despite having a somewhat modest following when it first appeared.

Google has expanded its sale of business names as keywords to firms' competitors, it has been revealed.

In an article for Business Week, Michael Orey reveals that this comes despite legal action being taken against the search engine by Rescuecom over allegations that the tactic could confuse customers.

Google has announced its decision to start "from the ground up" in creating a brand new Webmaster Tools design.

Product manager Sagar Kamdar and Josh Teague, interaction designer, both of the Webmaster Tools Team at Google, explain that the decision follows time spent listening to users' comments at conferences and consulting user studies, forums and blogs.

When it comes to launching a social media marketing strategy, businesses should endeavour to include every member of their staff.

Such is the assertion of Liana Evans, who in a blog for Search Engine Watch notes that even the workers who do not participate in marketing meetings can have a "significant effect" on the outcome of social media.

Google's news service has been improved to allow users to browse clusters of different resources from a list of links across the top of the page - which may provide a boost to search engine optimisation.

Under the title Full Coverage, web users can narrow their story search by filtering it through options such as blogs, articles, local sources, images, quotes and videos.

There are numerous factors that make up search as a strategy, according to one commentator, including pay per click (PPC), local search, feeds and search engine optimisation (SEO).

However, in a post for Search Engine Watch, Joshua Palau explains that SEO is the one tactic which requires businesses and web users to make actual changes to a site, but that often its importance as a marketing strategy is not recognised.

While search engine optimisation (SEO) can be a "very useful tactic" in driving up a firm's rankings, one commentator has advised that they should not leave it there and expect the rest to take care of itself.

In his post for Search Engine Watch, Chris Boggs notes that "the rest" includes driving conversions or leads online, with many firms believing that it was the user experience once they reached the site which was most important.

Robots have always had a presence on social media marketing sites and networks such as Facebook, according to one commentator.

It was reported last week that researchers from the Interactive Robots and Media Lab at the University of the United Arab Emirates have created a robot with its very own Facebook profile.

Although to many Google is now integrally linked in people's minds to the internet, one commentator has asked if it will be able to stay on top for the next ten years.

Greg Sterling, in a post for Search Engine Land, says the rise of mobile search plus developments in cloud technology could lead to Google losing its leading position.

While some businesses may currently be looking to get more from their existing customers in order to boost their revenue, one commentator has claimed that they could be looking towards converting other users.

Peter D, in a blog for SEO Book, said that "slicing an offer finely" in order to tailor a service to better fit the needs of existing customers was one way to increase revenue, but that discovering why some users are not buying a product or using a service could also prove useful.

A new era of search could be waiting on the horizon and may end up having an impact on search engine optimisation.

Wolfram Alpha is a search service that is set to be released later in May. Developed by Wolfram Research, it is made up of a large library of algorithms and will act as a search engine, research facility and graphing calculator.

The keyword long tail is dead, receiving its first blow when Google introduced new "powerful" matching options for AdWords in 2002, one commentator has claimed.

Writing for Search Engine Land, Andrew Goodman stated that many marketers may be feeling that they have had enough of ad groups which contain hundreds of "pointless, longshot, low-to-no-volume keywords".

It has been suggested by one commentator that businesses get involved with social media marketing not simply because it produces a better return on investment (ROI) professionally.

Randfish, in his blog for SEOmoz, claims that, in actuality, companies adopt the marketing form because it is "emotionally rewarding" and the metrics are more immediately tangible.

Twitter has taken the first steps in creating revenue from its social networking site, according to an exclusive interview on Reuters UK.

It hopes to expand its revenue by offering certain customers an expanded range of services, which includes commercial accounts in which corporations and other types of businesses pay a fee to receive an enhanced version of the social media marketing tool.

Twitter is facing an "uphill battle" to ensure that its droves of new chicks do not fly the nest without looking back, one expert has claimed.

David Martin, vice-president of primary research at Nielsen Online, claims that while there was no arguing that the micro-blogging site had grown "exponentially" in the last few months - due, in part to celebrity uptake - more than 60 per cent of US users fail to return to the site the month after signing up.