.Pro domains are still relatively unknown to the general public, and there’s debate as to when the domains will hit the mainstream.

Whether the buzz starts in two months or two years, there are still some top .pro domain names for sale across a host of industries.

RegistryPro operates the .pro domain name extension for professionals, and is the first company to require enhanced security through digital certificates. .Pro registrants are also required to self-certify their professional status in order to obtain the .pro domain and digital certificate.

The RegistryPro organization, owned by Hostway Corporation, received approval to launch the .pro domain in 2002 from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The registration requirements provide the .pro domains heightened credibility, which could see the .pro domains potentially take a share of the market from current domain leaders, such as .com and .org.

Meanwhile, domainers are investing heavily in the .pro market in anticipation of major returns on investments. The great news is a few hosting companies like Network Solutions have started offering .pro domains at exceptionally low prices, i.e. $29.99.

President-elect Obama will be the first president to post videos of his weekly Democratic address on YouTube, in addition to the traditional radio format, reports the Washington Post.

There’s no denying his party’s tech savvy. During the presidential campaign, the Democrats sent out countless text messages to people throughout the U.S. to remind citizens to register to vote, to go to the polls, and to get others involved in the campaign.

Reportedly, the Democrat party’s text message announcing Joe Biden as Obama’s running mate reached 2.9 million U.S. mobile subscribers. That made it “one of the most important text messages” ever, noted Nic Covey, Nielsen Mobile’s Director of Insights.

Marketers typically cut interactive spending in a recession. But a Forrester survey of 333 interactive marketers revealed strong support for maintaining or increasing budgets, reported Forrester’s Josh Bernoff.

The categories of choice include search optimization, social networking, email and blogging. In fact, among 12 major categories only online displays ads looked soft.

According to Forrester, professional services, financial services and media marketers are most likely to plan increases in interactive marketing.

In a recession like this, Bernoff suggested marketers should focus on the measurability of their online and social applications and think in terms of building long-standing assets, not one-off campaigns to pump up quarterly sales.

While discussing online promotions recently at a web design firm, a programmer brought up a black hat SEO technique he was excited about. I acknowledged black hat SEO tactics can generate high search engine rankings, but often not for long. Worse, it can get clients penalized and knocked off search engines all together. For any reputable web design or development firm, it’s just not worth the risk.

Web design firms need to advise clients that proper white hat SEO can provide cost-effective, long-term organic (a.k.a. natural) search engine rankings. It might take a few extra weeks to get to the desired position on Google, Yahoo or Bing, but the methods are risk-free and the results can last for years.

It’s best not to trick search engine spiders, but to make it easy for them to understand what your website is about. Keyword-rich web copy, meta data and links can do exactly that.

Feed search engine spiders relevant information and they’ll reward you many times over.

Mobile search is gaining in both popularity and frequency of use in the U.S. and Western Europe, reports comScore.

In June 2008, 20.8 million U.S. mobile subscribers and 4.5 million European mobile phone subscribers accessed search during the month, an increase of 68% and 38% from June 2007, respectively.

The U.K. had the highest penetration of mobile subscribers using search at 9.5%, followed closely by the U.S. at 9.2%.

Google is proving to be the preferred brand for browser-based searches with a 60% share of mobile searchers.

The cell phone is quickly becoming the mobile PC. Businesses will have to pay attention to this vertical, and get onboard sooner than later as local search starts to dominate the mobile search space. Without a doubt, these portable devices are creating full-scale opportunities.

Adobe announced July 1 it is working with the search industry to improve search results of dynamic web content and rich Internet applications. Up until now, search engines were not able to effectively view, decipher and index Flash-based sites.

Adobe has created a special Flash player, currently distributed to Yahoo and Google, which allows the search engines to crawl through Flash content and gather any text or hyperlinks within the rich content.

This is great news for businesses with Flash-based sites, which hindered their online presence.

Google has already begun indexing Flash sites, and Yahoo plans to release the technology in a future update. Adobe also plans to roll out the technology to other search engines.

We just released How to approach customer service 2.0, an article that has two social media experts discussing the “social revolution” and its impact on businesses and their brands.

To demonstrate the power of the social sites, I noted a blog post about terrible service that was delivered by Rogers Communications. Thousands have read the post and, despite many comments from other customers sharing their displeasures with Rogers, the phone company has yet to respond. That silence damages their brand.

Ironically, just yesterday, an Accounts Receivable rep from Rogers’ frontline stepped forward to personally apologize. Here’s what he wrote:

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Here’s an insightful interview with Udi Manber, Google’s VP of Engineering. CNET News Blog’s Stephen Shankland gets him to discuss everything from Internet maturity to upcoming search trends.

“How do I find the right web copywriter for my business?” That’s a common question by business owners at forums and seminars.

The answer is quite simple: on the Web.

A web copywriter who knows how to write for search engines will be visible on the Web. And if he can promote himself online, he’ll be able to promote you (be it in Toronto, New York, London or globally, if desired)

But your web copywriter also needs to be well versed writing for another audience: people. Getting prospects to your site is one challenge; converting them into customers is another. So ensure the copywriter delivers clear, concise and objective web writing that is customer centric.

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Showing consumers respect turns browsers into buyers. Yet, when consumers reach out, their inquiries often seem to fall on deaf ears. In the digital age, a prompt response is anticipated — always. And when it’s not delivered, it can easily kill the sale.

Many businesses don’t recognize patience is scarce on the fast-paced Web. Even the slightest delay in response prompts consumers to go back to Google and friends to click the next search result.

While planning web copy for an HR firm, they sent requests for quotes to three web designers. Within 48 hours they made their choice between two; they refused to wait for the third to respond.

Meanwhile, some businesses just don’t care. Two years ago, Webcopyplus was referring several businesses to an industry partner, and a couple clients made comments about their response times. E-mails weren’t returned for up to four days.

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