Placement on established, branded Web sites may seem like a logical step for online marketers looking to reach qualified audiences and online revenue goals, but our experts debate the issue of whether that investment is always necessary for the desired results.

Lately, I've become interested in the sub­ject of trust as it relates to Internet mar­keting. Two annual studies that I've read recently, the 2008 Edelman Trust Barometer and Harris Interactive Reputation Quotient (RQ) survey, piqued my interest.

Okay, I signed up. I'll be getting an e-mail and text message as soon as Barack Obama announces his pick for vice president. In fact, I might have already received it by the time you read this. However, I didn't sign up because I needed to be "the first to know," as Obama's Web site touted last week. Instead, this was a trailblazing marketing moment — the first time that a presiden­tial campaign has used mobile and e-mail marketing in this way — so I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

To sell ads online, publishers and marketers are faced with a choice between aggregate ad networks or direct dealings. Our experts weigh the pros and cons of each approach.

I've wondered recently how marketers and agencies keep up with the light-speed changes in the digital media space, especially in social media. From branded Facebook applications and Twitter marketing to MySpace hypertargeting and niche social networking sites, the seemingly endless shifts are enough to make any advertiser's head spin.

Now that advertisers can purchase online ads on a CPC, CPA or CPL basis, many small and midsize businesses can place ads next to larger corporate entities. Experts debate the strength of that advantage.

The online industry is rife with associations and best practice groups. Our experts look at where the digital age is at in terms of collaboration across the industry, and with the government, when it comes to standards.

I may be at risk of upsetting the ROI lobby with this state­ment, but I have to tip my hat to the marketers who took the plunge into the social media world, and failed. The Wall Street Journal last week analyzed the year since Facebook opened its development doors, reporting that more than 250,000 developers have taken the bait.

As an increasing number of widgets and ad banners appear on online social networks, understanding how the channel will work best for marketers in the future is still up for debate.

B-to-b marketing organizations that use whitepapers, case studies, data sheets and other PDF documents in their lead gen­eration campaigns want to capture as much information as possible from their readers. Unfortunately, many marketers seem deter­mined to take more than they give — few realizing that how much they take may not be as important as how they take it.