The 10-year budget battle between display and search marketing appears to have come to a close, giving way to an integrated approach to online advertising. Multiple studies pointing to an increase in lift and ROI can be credited for broker­ing the truce.

For all of the Web's advancements, the content it houses is still a snapshot in time. For the most part, these written words, images and video are no different than messages carved in stone. Once posted, they serve as a historical record of the past, and frequently searchers need to piece together multiple Web artifacts to understand the correlation between people, places and time.

Do ad agencies "get" search? While the question has become something of an industry cliché, the answers vary based on who is being questioned and the time period during which the debate is held. Given continued consolidation and the evolving definition of search, the 2003 response is no longer valid in 2008. And this is precisely why I agreed to moderate a session at SMX East on the topic - with a twist.

Over the past five years, the client summit has become a popular, annual event among search engine marketing agencies. I have had the privilege to participate at a number of these events; most recently, Range Online Media's Client Summit and Fall Fest, which was held last week in Dallas. While I initially intended to report on a social media panel that I moderated, I felt compelled to relay that almost half of the afternoon was not spent on SEO, PPC, social media or even creative development — rather, it was spent on attribution models that effectively move measurement away from the last click before conversion.

For some people, autumn conjures up thoughts of pumpkins, fall foliage and tweed suits. For marketers, it signals a 2-3 month stretch of excel spreadsheets, vendor reviews and endless negotiation. Yes, we are in the thick of planning season, and this year an uncertain economy will leave its mark on all line-items, search included.

While some economists fear that the US economy borders on recession, especially in the wake of the Federal Reserve's bailout of AIG last week, there is little doubt that the marketing and media industry is already suffering.

Just one year after my 24-hour Gmail lockdown, I once again became a digital pariah. Except this time, I wasn't behind bars — rather, I was involuntarily removed from the 3G grid with no warning.

As of last week, there is one less independent search engine marketing agency. IProspect, itself acquired in 2004 by Aegis Media's Isobar unit, picked up Range Online Media for an undisclosed amount. Despite years of insistence that big agencies "don't get it," consolidation continues to prove otherwise.

Two and a half years after its beta launch, Google Page Creator is being phased out and replaced by the more robust Google Sites product. All current Google Pages will be moved to a Google Site by the end of the year, and no new Page Creator accounts are being accepted.

Here I am, rounding the corner of 28th St. and Park Ave. in New York when, suddenly, I am hit by a guy coming at me with a flier for a local deli. A polite "no thank you" did no good — this last link in the marketing chain was listening to his iPod. Of all urban advertising vehicles, the people handing out fliers are definitely the most disruptive, much like a pop-up window that spawns an endless cycle of new pop-up windows.