According to a recent Business Matters article, online reputation management can make or break a business. If negative reviews are showing when people search for your company, you’re in trouble. Managing your reputation can help fix this, or even prevent it in the first instance. So, here are some helpful online reputation management tips.
Focus on Search Results
Search results for your brand name or your personal name matter a lot when it comes to online reputation. Therefore, you should try to own the search results as it is one of the best ways to maintain control over your online reputation. Your goal should be to get as many properties as possible on the first page of search results for your brand name or personal name.
We recommend the concept of having an online resume wherein you register your own domain name as well as your personal or brand name across various social networks. In simple terms, the goal is to own as many high quality and authority online properties including websites and social networks as possible, in order to gain multiple rankings on the first page of search results for your business or brand name.
Check Your Search Results Regularly
It is recommended to search for your company name at least once each month. If your company is in the news frequently, you should do it much more frequently. You should also set up Google Alerts for keywords related to your brand or business name in order to get the alert as and when any new content about your business goes online.
It is also suggested to not restrict yourself to only the first page of the Google search results. While most users limit their search to only the first page, it is important for you to check the search results on page 2 and 3 to check the presence of any negative content. Search rankings may change overnight and negative content on the second or third page may end up on first page of search results. You should take special care to find negative search results on second or third page as these might end up on the first page. Keep a spreadsheet for tracking search results with separate columns for page title, URL and page status (own page, controlled page or having some influence) as well as the sentiment (neutral, negative or positive).