Pricing Engine launched Friday, bringing marketers a self-service platform to manage a variety of media. The company initially released the product to support search marketing, integrating the ability to create and buy paid-search ads across Bing, Google and Yahoo, but later this year it will add the capability to optimize display advertising, social media marketing and eCommerce across desktop and mobile.

Amazon, Zappos and Best Buy Web sites have become the most visible retailers in paid-search campaigns and the most likely to be seen in organic search results, according to a recent study. Ask.com takes the top position for paid search overall.

Some 63% of mobile searches trigger an action within one hour of the initial search, such as going to a store, calling a business, or making a purchase, according to a study released Wednesday. Within that hour, consumers are potentially closer in physical proximity and decision to the purchase. During this time, strategic keyword bidding becomes critical.

Trends at South by Southwest (SXSW) identify how search will meld, not dissolve into the background. It will become a technology that exists in all online marketing and advertising, and the supporting platform for all mobile apps and Web sites. You can see it in research released this week from eBay and UC Berkeley. New and infrequent users of the online auction and marketplace are positively influenced by paid-search ads, but the purchase behavior of existing loyal users is not, resulting in negative returns on average, according to the findings.

Google has rolled out a beta version of a Google Shopping site for electrical and electronics products, clearly indicating that the search giant plans to build engines for market segments through online catalogs and tie them together, similar to the way Amazon and eBay did for books, toys, automobiles and more.

I can't wait to experience Austin and SXSW, so I can fill you in on everything from the CMO Club roundtable to events with Bing, Yahoo, Google, Samsung, Fandango and others.

Gear Talk will bring "Gears of War Judgment" (GOWJ) to life by providing gamers with the opportunity to speak directly with characters, but the real benefit comes from instant feedback from fans and the ability to integrate it into future episodes

A scorecard released Wednesday gives Android and Google Maps each an A+, while Google Offers slumps with a C, but the gem in this infographic shows how each makes money. The grades are based on a quality market adoption, value to users and marketers, originality and other factors that provide insight into Google's mobile strategy and how users view the company's products and services.

How would government define marketing vs. advertising vs. branding to apply taxes? Last week we began hearing about two states drafting bills that would require a tax on services such as advertising.

Sometimes trends don't ultimately amount to much, but keeping one eye on the future helps marketers support paid-search campaigns and optimization strategies on engines and Web sites. A list published Monday provides insight into some of the hot topics for 2013.