If you are involved in online marketing, you have likely heard of Google’s newest addition to its Toolbar- the Google Sidewiki.  This feature allows anyone to make comments and provide any information that shows up when others (using the Google toolbar) pull up your website.

Just as with any wiki, there is some good intention here in that it is providing more social media and community elements to the Internet.  However, it is also an invitation for competitors, spammers and unscrupulous visitors to harm your business. . . and you have no control over what content will show up alongside your website.

Many feel like this feature goes a little too far since the comments show up right alongside your site when someone pulls up your website. This is very different from third party comments showing up on another independent site.

While I have had discussions with lawyers about the legal implications which could arise, I think the best solution to help your business avoid this fate is to use technology.  There are several Google Sidewiki “blockers” out there and I think it is well worth reviewing them for an appropriate solution if you run a website where others can exploit the Google Sidewiki to hurt your business.

My team is in the process of testing some of these blockers but you can learn about them by just googling “Google Sidewiki blocker”.

Child related businesses are extremely lucrative on the Internet. Companies make millions of dollars selling many different products and publications related to kids.

The flip side to running any business related to children is that they are a protected constituency and, especially when it comes to information, any business owner must keep up with the regulations and be sure they are in compliance with all the privacy regulations.

I just read an interesting article about a web monitoring company that sells a service to help parents monitor their kid’s activities in private chats using instant messaging software.  This company sells information revealed in these chats to other businesses and it is now getting some bad publicity about this practice.

While they claim they get this permission in the agreements with parents (likely hidden in the fine text of legal terms), it is pretty clear that parents are not aware of this.

As a lawyer, I advise based on the laws that do exist to protect children interests from the negative vices of the Internet. . . but as a parent, I believe that all of us, including the capitalists inside of us, has an ethical obligation to restraint from doing anything that could harm or exploit children.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32694224/ns/technology_and_science-security/

Because the Internet is known as the “unknown” wild west at times when it comes to determining legal obligations and potential for lawsuits and legal trouble, it is strongly recommended that every website have legal terms and conditions governing privacy, the use of information, the use of the site and the sale of any services and products.

Many online entrepreneurs balk at having “legalese” on their sites in fear that it will reduce sales on their site.  This is definitely a legitimate concern.  In marketing, you do not want to add anything in your sales process that will cause a prospect to be confused, feel overwhelmed and “legalese” can overwhelm most anyone.

However, is it worth risking potentially significant liability?  I can tell you that after representing many clients in dealing with potential lawsuits and problems, the stress, uncertainty and the amount you can lose makes it most certainly not work it.

Plus, if you speak to any successful online entrepreneur (ones doing over a million dollars in annual sales) you will likely hear a story or two about some legal problems faced in their businesses.  And, they will likely emphasize to you the importance of having your legal agreements in place. In other words, if you plan on running an online business for the long term, you MUST have legal and risk planning as part of your business.  Do not wait until you are making hundreds of thousands of dollars to be shocked by risks and problems that could have been avoided.

When it comes to legal protection v. sales and marketing- there is a balance.  Keep your legal terms on a separate page and just link to them in the sales process. One really effective method used is to start your legal terms with a statement like “There are the terms that our attorneys require we include. . . ”

In your terms and conditions, avoid using unknown and legalese terms- have you lawyer write them so that they are easy to read and understand.

In your regular marketing copy, you can use the persuasive techniques taught by successful copywriters but be sure you are truthful and never deceptive.

I started learning about how to make money via Internet Marketing back in 2004. A good friend of mine also started learning with me.  However, we both chose totally different online paths.

I stuck with the traditional method of finding a market need, building a site to build relationships and provide value and to sell both my own products and products of others which I tested and felt comfortable recommending.

My friend chose the “black hat” route which consisted of launching websites, finding loop holes in the different web site places where you can get traffic and sometimes even exploiting aggressive marketing and technology methods to earn income.

I must admit I was amazed at what black hat marketers come up with and do- They truly are extremely creative and innovative when it comes to finding effective search placement and marketing methods.

In our first year in business, I made very little money from my online ventures but my friend was making pretty good money.  He would find ways to promote something and it sometimes brought in thousands of dollars with just a few hours or work and dollars in investment.  In addition, his activity was limited to being an anonymous conduit for other marketers which meant he did not have to deal with customer service or product support issues, etc.

He grew his black hat business into quite an operation which involved setting up thousands of email accounts and web pages.  But a few years ago, something started happening.  The Internet companies started to combat against black hat methods.  Many of his web pages were shut down overnight.  Sites like Google and Craigslist came up with ways to find and nullify black hat marketers.  And his income stream became very unwieldy.

Even recently, Google came up with a cell phone verification for setting up gmail accounts and Twitter implemented some anti-spam measures. So, my friend is once again trying to stay ahead and work with his black hat buddies to find new black hat ways- they love this stuff and sometimes thrive on the challenges that come up.

But, what is happening is that his income has hit a plateau and sometimes he loses a lot of it overnight.  He needs to keep coming up with a new bag of tricks which might or might not work.

In the last two years, my online properties have become more established using traditional marketing methods and I now have significant income coming in every month that for the most part I can rely on (in business, you can never ever rely on anything 100%).  In the meantime, I am developing brands that can only build more value and create more income streams over time.

So, I think the decision really depends on your personality but I personally feel that the long standing internet businesses apply the same success principles as any business.  Focus on providing REAL VALUE to their customers and developing relationships over time.

The Internet is evolving into a social media format where transparency and relationships will prove to be most profitable for online business owners.  I think black hat methods and other similar forms of internet marketing that proved extremely profitable before will become less effective as the technology to identify these methods advance and the customers who use the internet become more educated about them.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is the law that provides copyright owners with remedies if their works/content are being used unlawfully on an Internet site.  While there are some administrative requirements to exercising remedies, the main requirement is that the copyright owner believe in good faith that its content is being misappropriated.

In a recent United States district court, an additional requirements has been added before a copyright owner can utilize the DMCA. Basically, the court ruling states that under the DMCA, a copyright owner must first evaluate whether the use of the material is a fair use of the copyright PRIOR to demanding that copyrighted material be removed from an Internet site. The court held that a copyright owner acted in bad faith by issuing a takedown notice without proper consideration of the fair use doctrine.

Unfortunately, fair use is a fact based inquiry and so it is not always easy to determine whether or not a use is fair use (even for a trained intellectual property lawyer).  In this case, the court acknowledged that there is no bright-line rule with respect to what constitutes “fair use” of copyrighted material.  Factors to consider in making this determination include (1) how much of the original work was reproduced; (2) whether the new use is commercial in nature; (3) whether the market for the original work was harmed; and (4) whether the new work is a parody.

Copyright infringement on the Internet is a rapidly growing problem because it is so easy to copy and publish material.  This case clearly adds another hurdle to enforcement which can be costly if a copyright owner needs to hire a lawyer to assess fair use.  However, the court ruling makes sense given that fair use is an established and protected use of copyright material in the US.

Online fraud is growing rampantly without any end in sight.  While the Internet has become a lucrative channel for conducting business and selling goods and services, it also created a lucrative avenue for scammers and thieves.

Today, anyone can put up a professional website for very little costs.  A domain only costs $8, hosting can be free in some cases, and you can buy pre-made professional web templates that can rival the looks of the most established businesses.  Ecommerce functionality is likewise getting cheaper so anyone can set up a cheap way to extract money from unsuspecting web customers.

The technology and laws that have arisen to protect privacy on the Internet can be manipulated to protect revealing the identity of the scam artists.  Some of the most famous scams have extracted billions of dollars and the law enforcement agencies cannot trace the criminals.

The legal system has always been one of the slowest institutions in society to act to address new legal problems that arise due to an evolving society.  And, the law will never catch up.  Arguably, the minds behind criminal schemes are clever and even more innovative than the entrepreneurs with legimitate business models.

Technology will always outpace the law and even when the law does address a new problem, enforcement and real remedies are just not practical to a single person who has been defrauded.

We have gotten to a point where online commerce has become accepted and mainstream, but the concerns of online fraud are only now becoming a matter of significant concern to the average person.  Online fraud cases are showing up more and more in the news. The average business and consumer is becoming aware of the problems and the increasing chances that they could become a victim.

No longer will any security or trust certification seals work to alleviate the concerns. The public is becoming more savvy and understands that MOST (not all) of those certification programs are just another way someone is making a quick buck to sell a nice looking seal.

This issue will be elevated in the next few years and as a result- online buyers have started and will start to change their buying habits online based on these concerns.  They will want to only do business with companies that they KNOW are legitimate.

Even more, customers will come to realize that just because a website looks professional does not mean it is legimitate.  And, just because it posseses certifications or seals, does not mean it is a trustworthy business.  Customers will do more diligence seeking independent evidence of credibility.

This trend will make it more challenging for the new and small businesses to be successful and compete with the larger and more established businesses.  The best way to address this in your business is to focus on building your branding and establishing a presence in your industry.

Don’t look for shortcuts but think about what any real, legitimate company does over time to build their brand presence. Branding activity can be expensive but with new Internet based tools such as social media to help spread the word, a business can build a brand quickly with the right focus and approach.

One of the most effective methods of advertising on the Internet is known as Pay Per Click (PPC). Google Adwords is the largest and most used PPC ad network but there are many others (Yahoo Search Marketing and MSN) that are based on the same concept.

PPC networks allow you to bid on specific keywords that when searched in a search engine will trigger advertisements that link to the advertiser’s websites.

One question that has arisen lately is whether it is legally permissible to bid on your competitor’s trademarks and trade names as keywords or whether such use in in violation of the trademark laws?

Interestingly, courts have come down on both sides when it comes to this issue.  The matter comes down to whether this practice results in a sufficient “use in commerce” of the trademark to constitute an illegal trademark use.

There is a 2004 federal case (Eastern District, Virginia) that concluded that simply purchasing these keywords as part of a PPC network does not rise to the necessary use in commerce.  On the other hand, there is a 2006 case in Minnesota that went the other way because the court found that the advertiser was commercially benefiting.

In the law, the law of your jurisdiction (or the jurisdiction where a case is heard) governs your situation.  So for now, the issue is open.  What does this mean?

Well, if you are an advertiser there is a reasonable basis for using this practice and if you are a trademark owner and want to stop competitors from using your trademark in PPC programs, there is a reasonable basis for sending cease and desist letters.

Now, if you get a cease and desist letter, you should cease using another’s marks in your PPC or consult an attorney to better understand your risks in your specific jurisdiction if you want to continue the use of another’s marks and names in your PPC campaign.

PS- This post goes to show that there are a lot of legal uncertainties in the business world.  If you are not operating your business through an asset protection vehicle such as a limited liablity company (LLC), you should be!  If you look at any of the more successful online businesses, you will see they are operated through an LLC or corporation.  Learn about LLC Formation so you can protect yourself and your assets.

Social networking websites have become the latest rage on the Internet. Many traditional websites have been surpassed in traffic by social sites such as Facebook, YouTube and MySpace.

While viable business models behind the social networking sites themselves are still playing out, the benefit of social media to any business is definitely proving itself.

The fundamental premise behind social networking is nothing new- it allows people to connect with and communicate with each other. The reason for the incredible growth of social networking on the Internet is the result of a combination between (i) the evolving technology that allows the average person to post content easily and instantly; and (ii) the viral nature of these networks.

Just as the need to have an Internet presence with a static website became a necessity for any business (offline or online) in the past decade, the clear benefits of having social interaction on business websites are becoming the next step for any business to leverage the Internet to do more business.

So now, there are bowling alleys using Flickr to allow customers to show off their bowling skills and interact with other customers.  And then you have your local Mexican restaurant owner wanting to add social features to their sites where customers can review their food or atmosphere.  And some services based businesses are even going so far as to enable a chat amongst visitors on their sites and in their forums to discuss the company.

Social media really comes down to “user generated content” which can come in many forms such as customer or user reviews, blogs, instant messaging, comments, videos, and any other communications taking place on your site.

First, adding a social element to your site does have some business risk because the medium allows comments that can both help and hurt your business.  Social media gives power back to the people but this also means that competitors, unscrupulous customers and anyone else can use it to your detriment.

Second, by allowing user generated content on a site that you own, a myriad of legal issues come into play including privacy and intellectual property laws.

Given the unbelievable developments in technlogy (which will only continue) and the nature of the Internet where any content can spread like wildfire, the laws will never be able to keep up.

So, it is important that your terms of service or user policies be well drafted to give you the business flexibility and ownership over content to address both the business issues and the legal issues that may come up.

There will always be some risk to using social media elements in your business but the rewards will likely far outweigh the risks.  Even so, there is a lot you can do to minimize these risks by having well drafted terms of use, user policies and privacy policies governing any user generated content contributed to your website.

It still amazes me the percentage return on investment that is possible with an Internet business. For myself, I have several online businesses which each required about a $1,000 on average to launch and get to a point where they were bringing in revenue. This includes everything from all the infrastructure, web design, keyword research, and marketing. These sites are now each bringing in between $ 80 to $+5,000 in net income a month. 

At the low end, a site that costs $1,000 and brings in $80 a month in passive income is close to a 100% ROI return annually.  Now, $80 a month is not a lot of money but it can be if you rinse and repeat. And the sites that are bringing in $5,000 profit a month create a whopping 6000% ROI return annually. 

Nothing can beat these returns especially when the time to get to these returns is usually a few months to a year.  And, they can keep improving as you optimize each online website. Now, I have had some unsuccessful sites, but the most I have ever risked on a website before finding out it will not be profitable enough for me is about $1000 a site.  This is not a bad stop loss.

Just to compare- I also invest in residential real estate where typically I need to put up (or borrow) capital of about $150,000 in order to make $15,0000-$30,000 in profit. This ROI for the deal is 20% and there is a lot more capital at stake if things do not work out.

Also, I have several clients that have put up hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch a business which will take several years to possibly pay off by creating a consistent revenue stream or a business that may be lucrative to a potential acquirer.  This is a lot of risk to take. 

Now, these companies are exciting to work on and for the smart entrepreneur, it is worth the capital, risk and toil, but from a straight risk and ROI perspective, it seems like the traditional Internet marketing based business model is more attractive to the average person thinking of starting a small business.

Currently, it is a perfect time for anyone to start an Internet business.  While we are in the midst of a struggling economy and the real estate market is horrible, the percent of transactions being transacted on the Internet is growing.  More people are going online and more companies are advertising online.  Once you add in the revenue potential and the minimal amount of capital, any person thinking of starting a business (part-time or otherwise) should strongly consider an Internet based business.

I recently created a video for The LLC Expert website- explaining why any business owner should always do business through an asset protection vehicle such as an LLC (limited liability company).  Many think through this analysis of whether to start an LLC the wrong way.

For example, it is improper to think that you do not need LLC protection just because you are the sole owner or because your business is just starting and not making money.  Liability protection has nothing to do with either of these factors.

I usually get people to understand how to think through this by using examples.

My video talks about a colleague in the internet marketing industry who recently started an internet consulting business. She only started her consulting business less than 3 months ago.  And, she is facing a PERSONAL lawsuit from her first client who only paid her $250 for consulting.  The shocking part is that the client is suing her for $10,000 in damages.

Her client spent over $10,000 in adwords advertising after the consultation and is now complaining to her about her advice.  They are want her to pay for the $10,000 that did not turn into an sales.

She made two mistakes.  One, she should have started an LLC for her business so this would be a business problem not a personal problem.  Second, she should have used a contract which limited her liability.

Watch the short video here for more details: LLC Protection Explained

The LLC Expert website has an in-depth learning center if you want to learn about the limited liability company and provides the fastest LLC formation service backed by a compliance guarantee.