By George Mentz, JD, MBA – International Lawyer and Management Consultant

Whether you are looking for a new job, have a job, own your own company, or the leader of an organization, you will need to make sure your SEO REP is in good shape. It does not matter if you are in insurance, banking, brokerage, law, medicine, or accounting. Nobody is excluded and the web does not discriminate.

What is SEO REP? It is called Search Engine Optimized Reputation. This means that the first pages of the search results for your company name or even your personal name search should produce results that are to your advantage and factual.  In 2003, I published the first peer reviewed journal articles on Search Engine Recruiting for Colleges and Universities. (See Referrences Below)  In those 3 different journal articles, it stressed owning web property that is critical to your brand and mission. Many of the truths still hold today. The newest challenge is social networking for business and the ownership of such web property that can be used for your best interests or even against you. Examples are: Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, Twitter and others. However, the challenge of web real estate is much bigger than it was ten years ago and most of us will eventually be forced to open accounts with all of the major social and business networks.

These days, a CEO will even purchase the domain name that represents their personal name. Example Jane Z. Doe will buy (the dot com, the dot org, and the dot net) or other key variations of their name spelling to claim and protect it for factual promotion and save it from vandalism. People who desire to have excellent SEO REP will also create accounts on all of the major social networks. Those who want to brand their own career information will keep updated biographies and accounts with the major job search engines. All of these actions are to keep key web property from being taken hostage. Here are some other web properties that professionals would want to claim an account using their actual name, their company name brand, or keywords and terms related to their top selling trademarks or products. Here is a short list of the biggest networks: viadeo.com, about.me * ziggs.com * businesscard2.com * myspace.com * multiply.com * emurse.com * bigsight.org * visualcv.com * visible.me * wordpress.com * gather.com * ryze.com * posterous.com * peoplepond.com * ziki.com * flavors.me * professionalontheweb.com * publr.com * .mp * twitter.com * bigsight.org

Some other notable networking sites are: Tagged, Qzone (Chinese), Orkut, MyLife, Last.fm, Hi5, Friendster, Flickr, classmates.com, BlackPlanet, Bebo (India), Badoo (Latin American), Douban (China). The list is dynamic and will continue to change. Should you log into each of these sites and create an account? You can, and you might want to? What if somebody else does it? What if your competitor claims your name? What if somebody claims a product name? Legally, there are very few effective protections against name squatting unless it is done in “legal bad faith” or they are using your copyrights and trademarks. Even then, it can be a hassle to try and get a domain turned over to you for a legal violation and difficult to have fraudulent content removed from any search engine results. Generally, personal names are not protected from being owned by others. Anybody can buy a domain name related to a “real name” and put up information on that domain name. Much like domain squatting, SNS social network squatting is also a growing problem.

What can you do? There are “web credibility” services that can help establish web property related to your name and syndicate the information that you provide, but there is a price. Remember, you can do it yourself, but if there is little time and lots of money involved related to keeping a good reputation, then you may need professional help. With professional help, you make sure your sites with factual information are ranking well in the big search engines such as: MSN/BING, Google, and Yahoo.

Taking action to control your BRAND NAME may be necessary in the world of anonymous postings by competitors, crazy customers, old relationships gone bad, former employees, or coworkers. In the end, a healthy paranoia and a positive marketing strategy may be a good idea. As a reference, companies such as Reputation.com can also be consulted to begin a strategy to establish a larger web presence for you and your brand. . If you are concerned about keeping a good name or worried about your SEO REP, open an account with Google or Yahoo and create some alerts. These alerts should send you an email whenever somebody puts up a new site about you that includes the keywords that you have input.

If you need help, talk to an SEO Internet Marketing Consultant and Expert who has been in the business for a few years and decide if you should begin an active strategy to protect your name and your career.

References:

Whiteside, R. & Mentz, George (2003). Online college recruiting and marketing: Web promotion, strategy, and ethics. College & University, 78(3), 31-36.

Mentz, G., & Whiteside, R. (2003). Internet College Recruiting and Marketing.  Journal of College Admission, 12, 10-17.

Whiteside, R., Mentz George  (2003), Online Admissions and Internet Recruiting: An Anatomy of Search Engine Placement, EDUCAUSE QUARTELY, Nr. 4, 63-66.

Republicans have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to tax cuts, but new analysis by the CBO casts doubt on whether Congress’s bold deficit reduction agenda can succeed without concessions from the Right on their raison d’être.

Speaking before the Congressional Deficit Reduction Committee on September 13, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf testified that the Bush tax cuts must be allowed to expire if government spending continues at its current rate. As health care costs grow—due both to an aging population and President Obama’s expansive health care initiatives—spending in other areas will need to be cut dramatically if the Bush tax cuts are to remain in their current form.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous Advisor’s Journal coverage of Washington’s budget battle, see Are Income Tax Hikes Inevitable? (CC 11-166), Deficit Reduction Committee Gets to Work (CC 11-167), and Democrats Call Debt Limit Unconstitutional (CC 11-134).

President Obama’s deficit reduction plan includes a controversial call for eliminating the tax-free status of muni bonds for affluent taxpayers. The provision would dramatically impact planning options for the retirees who favor tax-free bonds and shift the way state and local governments secure much needed funding for public projects.

The administration can expect strong resistance to his proposal from Republicans and state and local governments that rely on the tax-free status of their bonds to create additional demand and lower their borrowing costs. Investors are willing to take much lower returns on municipal bonds than they are on other investments since income on the bonds is not taxed. That keeps the cost of borrowing down for states and local governments. Eliminate the tax break and states will see their borrowing costs rise significantly.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of municipal finance in Advisor’s Journal, see Life Settlements—Savior of Municipal Finance? (CC 11-97).

President Obama has fired his opening salvo in the 2012 race, using his jobs proposal to redirect the narrative in the presidential race from the Republican focus on fiscal austerity to one of practical importance to millions of unemployed Americans—jobs.

Details of the president’s plan raises questions about his intentions since it includes many of the same tax increases that Congress has rejected in the past. Is President Obama willing to reach an impolitic compromise to get the plan passed? Or does it mark the administration’s turn toward a more focused use of his bully pulpit as it turns its attention to 2012?

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of the financial crisis and stagnant recovery in Advisor’s Journal, see U.S. Investigating Standard & Poors after Debt Downgrade (CC 11-169).

The IRS has reissued proposed regulations that clarify when a nongrantor trust’s (NGT) or estate’s investment advisory expenses are fully deductible for income tax purposes. Most advisory expenses are subject to what can be a severe restriction that greatly reduces their deductibility.

Until the Supreme Court case of Knight v. Commissioner was decided, executors and trustees were uncertain how the floor applied to estates and NGTs. Knight clarified which of an estate’s or NGT’s expenses are subject to the 2 percent floor for itemized deductions. Expenses that are “customarily” or “commonly” incurred when property is held by an individual are subject to the 2 percent floor when they are incurred by an estate or nongrantor trust. Expenses that are unique to estates and NGTs are not subject to the floor.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of the Knight decision in Advisor’s Journal, see Knight v. Commissioner – U.S. Supreme Court Rules On Important Issue Regarding Income Taxation of Trusts (CC 08-10).

A recent Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals case considered whether taxpayers could avoid a $171,631 tax bill after their life insurance policy was terminated by the carrier [McGowen v. Commissioner, No. 10-9000 (2011)].

As we have seen before, if a policy is terminated and a policy loan forgiven, the insured will be on the hook for the amount of debt that is cancelled. What is unique about this case is the McGowens’ argument that they did not owe tax on the debt forgiveness because they were insolvent at the time the debt was forgiven.

Income from a discharge of indebtedness is generally taxed. Cash received from a loan is not taxed—the borrower will have to pay back the loan, so it is not income to the borrower. But if the loan is forgiven and the borrower is no longer required to repay, the borrower has received income.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of the income taxation of policy loans in Advisor’s Journal, see When Are Policy Loans Taxable? (CC 11-122).

More bank stock declines and less lending could be in store as financial institutions face another massive round of lawsuits. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sued 17 banks on September 2, alleging that the financial institutions committed securities violations in the lead-up to the recent financial crisis. The lawsuit concerns sales by the institutions to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of almost $200 million in residential private-label mortgage-backed securities that later collapsed. The lawsuit also names some of the banks’ officers and unaffiliated lead underwriters.

In addition to the securities violations, the lawsuits allege that the banks made negligent misrepresentations and failed to do adequate due-diligence and follow standard underwriting procedures when offering the mortgage-backed securities.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of the crisis in Advisor’s Journal, see Fed to Purchase $600 Billion in Treasuries in Move to Stimulate Economy (CC 10-94).

If you receive an award notice from the Consumers’ Research Council of America, don’t take the honor lightly.

It isn’t the responsibility that comes with the award that should give you pause: This isn’t the financial planners’ equivalent of the Miss America Pageant, where the winner has to assume a laundry list of responsibilities and make public appearances on behalf of the organization.

It’s the legitimacy of the award and its sponsoring organization that’s the problem. If you get the award letter, you can proudly proclaim yourself one of “America’s Top Financial Planners,” as recognized by the Consumers’ Research Council of America, but don’t accept the award without preparing yourself to answer questions about what the award really means.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of professional designations in Advisor’s Journal, see SEC OKs CFP Board’s Request to Dig into Applicants’ Backgrounds (CC 11-88).

Financial services recruiters think that there will be mass movement of financial advisors between firms in the coming year. So if you’re thinking about making a move, you’re going to have some company.

Planning the transition from your initial investigation of target firms all the way through the process of severing your ties with your previous firm is essential if you want to avoid the snags that can delay or even halt the process.

Is your resume positioned to catch a recruiter’s eye?

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of transitions between firms in Advisor’s Journal, see The Pitfalls of Transitioning between Firms (CC 11-91).

It comes as little surprise that life insurance sales have slowed during 2011, according to LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Life Insurance Sales report.  The downturn in individual life insurance sales is related in part to the exodus of carriers from the no-lapse UL market, says Ashley Durham, senior analyst, product research at LIMRA. “Part of the slowdown in growth is a reflection of a few companies moving away from lifetime death benefit guarantee universal life (UL) products,” she said in a press release.

Universal Life carriers are exiting the lifetime death benefit guarantee UL (“no lapse UL”) market in spite of the product’s popularity. Sun Life, for instance, exited the market in 2010. Where no-lapse universal life represented 97% of its life business in 2007, today it makes up only 32% of its business. Many carriers that are staying in the no-lapse market are raising their rates, increasing the likelihood of no-lapse’s continued decline.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of universal life in Advisor’s Journal, see Can Term Life Coupled with a Mutual Fund Investment Replace a Variable Universal Life Policy? (CC 10-77).

For an in-depth description of variable universal life policies, see AUS Main Library: Section 25 B—Variable Universal Life (VUL).