David Daniels - Online Reputation Management

 Online Reputation Management

Online David Daniels Management by Jak Smith.

It has become common practice for people to surf the web for news and information about people, places and companies. Researching new products and services is commonplace. It is expected that a prospective employer will conduct a thorough online search of any serious candidates for employment. Google has become the online manifestation of Orwell’s imagined “Big Brother”. If the algorithm has dealt you a bad hand, it is best you learn how to confront it rather than hoping it will disappear by itself.

As a service to the companies and individuals for whom a search yields negative results, or may suffer from this precarious condition in the future, we offer insights into the world of online reputation management.

You are Not Alone

With the advent of bloggers, RSS feeds and web sites, anyone can define a person’s or company’s identity and challenge a website’s reputation and integrity. The rise and expansion of consumer generated media offers the public an opportunity to express their views. And this is being done at an unprecedented rate. People are expressing their views unabashedly, often with no regard for the consequences of what they are writing, and with little for concern for the veracity of their comments.

The more a product, brand or company is exposed to public attention and scrutiny, the greater the likelihood that someone will want to challenge its reputation. This can include dissatisfied clients, customers and competitors, who may have legitimate complaints or rumor mongers and vindictive web site wizards, whose sole purpose is to challenge another website’s integrity. For example, 29 of the Fortune 100 Companies have at least one negative postings when “Googled”. These postings range from bad business practices and discrimination, to accusations that companies are connected to paramilitary death squads.

Negative postings are not only surfacing on large or even medium corporate search results. Stories, rumors and press accounts that date back a decade or more are also traumatizing ordinary people. Seemingly innocent pranks and mischievous adventures that college students may have engaged in, have appeared in top positions of search engine listings seriously damaging their reputations, careers and lives.

You Can Take Charge

Combating the tribulations of a negative Google listing means taking charge of the search results that come up for your name, company, etc. If left to the vagaries of the search engine’s algorithm, you can easily fall victim to the whims of arbitrary conjecture, opinions and rumors. When you decide to take charge, you need to confront the search engines in a proactive and forthright manner, rather than adopting a passive or defensive posture.

Online reputation and search engine optimization professionals will tell you that it is no longer an issue of “if” you should be managing your online reputation, the question is “how” you should be managing it. And don’t assume that just because you are happy with the results of your own personal search today, that situation will continue indefinitely. Being on guard means:

1. knowing that the situation can turn against you and
2. having the ammunition to combat the rumor mongers when they strike.

Like the proverbial lawyer who, when deciding to represent himself, discovers has a fool for a client, most people, even those who are comfortable in the world of the internet, are not competent to deal with the major league players when it comes to online reputation management. When you are up against a challenger that has Google on its team, you don’t want your teammates to be from the minor league, even if they can boast a relatively high batting score.

Working With a Pro

Successful ORM, focuses on having sufficient links to blogs, articles, press stories and allied web sites so that when a search is run for your name, all of the material you have positioned appears. The problem starts when a stubbornly entrenched negative press story or blog, appears on your page, and it overpowers all of the listings you have put in place, how do you dislodge it?

Measuring Success

Regardless of who actually manages your ORM campaign, what is required is distribution of positive content and strategic participation in online discussions which results in the creation and posting of positive content on your site. A successful search engine reputation management program ensures that those looking for information about you or your company will see favorable content wherever your name or your company appears as search results.

 Internet Reputation Management for Internet Marketers

Author: Cynthia Mosher

Building a name for yourself is essential to success in today’s internet business world. People want to do business with and offer their money to people they feel they can trust. These ten steps will go a long way to helping you build a reputation of trust with your visitors.

1. Present a Real Face
Showing your web site is a legitimate physical business you will boost your site’s credibility. The simplest way to do this is by providing a physical address and telephone number for voicemail contact. It also helps to post a picture of yourself or your office and place a list of memberships you belong to such as the chamber of commerce and professional organizations for your business field.

2. Provide Authority
Give authority site links to research and information you present. Even if the reader does not check your information, seeing the respected source of your statement instills trust in your information and your site. And just the opposite - don’t link to outside sites that are not credible. Your site becomes less credible by association.

3. Highlight Your Staff
People like to know who runs things behind the scenes. Offer brief “about us” information for your staff, even if it’s just you and your partner, freelancer, or virtual assistant.

4. Share Your Experience and Expertise
Are you an expert on some topic? Make that known on your site, in your About Us page and wherever appropriate in articles and resources. List your education and accomplishments in specific areas of knowledge and training.

5. Be Reachable
People like to feel there’s a real person there to communicate with. Give a personal email address and answer promptly. Provide a physical address, telephone number and fax number if you can. A customer help desk is a good addition for a busy site too. But most importantly, respond to their needs as soon as possible.

6. Present a Well Designed Site
Lots of people judge a website by its cover. Provide a professional look but keep it user friendly and consistent. Your design should be appropriate for your business and inviting to internet users of varying experience.

7. Keep it Simple
That snazzy flash page may dazzle some but for many others it will simply be overboard and they will click on by. Use the basics that load quickly and perform well for all internet users and don’t require them to update their computer software to view your pages. People are looking for information and they want it quickly and easily and don’t want to upgrade to get it.

8. Provide New Content Regularly
A site with the same content your visitor saw last month or even last week will give a feeling of absence or abandonment. Keep things current. Place new content weekly if you can. A blog is a great way to do this and you can schedule the content delivery to make it easy.

9. Keep Ads to a Minimum
Advertising should be for products or services you stand behind and should not constitute a large part of your site’s presentation. Featuring a new product or service every month or even every week can be fine. Just don’t bombard your reader with ads. It conveys a feel of your selling interest superseding your sincere interest in your customer

10. Present Clean, Error-free, Functioning Content
Spelling mistakes and broken links are a real turn-off. As an internet business owner you rely mostly on the written word to convey information and professionalism about you and your business. It is important that you present the best you can for your visitors and that it be functional and accessible when they need it.

Use these ten steps to establish your business online. Not only will you gain trust and respect online, you will gather a devoted audience that will spread the word. That’s the best advertising that no money can buy.

Internet Reputation Management