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Incisive Media revealed today that Rebecca Lieb has been promoted to editor-in-chief of the ClickZ network. In fulfilling her new responsibilities, Lieb will take over for Danny Sullivan, providing editorial direction for the Search Engine Watch website.

The announcement came at the Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago, not ironically, the show that is headed up by Danny Sullivan.

The move comes on the heels of Sullivan's departure from Search Engine Watch, and the subsequent formation of his new venture, Search Engine Land. Before today's announcement, much speculation had be offered as to who would be tapped to step into Sullivan's shoes as editor-in-chief of the popular search engine resource.

"Rebecca is an outstanding journalist and editor who has taken ClickZ to new heights. She has always understood the important and unique role of search in the interactive marketing space," said Sullivan, now editor-in-chief of SearchEngineLand.com.

"Her promotion is well deserved, and I look forward to seeing her guide Search Engine Watch into its next generation."

In a SEW blog post, Lieb comments on her promotion and gives an optimistic appraisal of the site's future with her at the helm:

Today, ClickZ is thriving. I'm confident Search Engine Watch will, too, due in no small part to its legions of devoted and intensely engaged readers. My role here is to shape the editorial direction of the site going forward, mostly from behind the scenes. I have no plans to become a SEW byline. I'm no slouch when it comes to search, but I also know enough about search to recognize that others know far more about it than do I.

Lieb certainly has a large pair of shoes to fill as she steps into her new role at Search Engine Watch. Sullivan, routinely praised for his industry prowess, is largely credited with the success that SEW has achieved in recent memory.

Taking up the SEW gauntlet will be no easy task, but so far Lieb appears to be embracing the challenge.

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Joe is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.