Proactive and Reactive Reputation Management

What are people saying about your business? Is it positive, negative, or are you missing from online searches when people type your company name, brand or specific terms you should be found for? Most times when customers come to us for our reputation management services, unfortunately, it’s due to something negative popping up online for a particular search term, business name or person’s name, and the customer is in panic-mode to get it removed. This can be a difficult situation to deal with emotionally and some companies maximize on this urgency by quoting large fees for little work regardless of the likelihood of success. Reputation management is difficult and it’s never guaranteed and should be something that is worked on throughout a businesses routine, not just when there is a public relations emergency.

Starting from scratch is not easy, but the good news is it is ‘possible’ to remove certain items from search engines, however, this isn’t always the case. The most difficult items to remove are user generated comments and reviews that are not libel, factually accurate news stories, information that is public information, and legal or government records. Some companies may go as far as guaranteeing the removal of said documents; however, tread-lightly on any guarantees outside of sponsored search ads when it comes to the Internet; those are your only guarantees – and even those are limited to bidding processes.

With that said, there are instances where certain web pages or items can be removed from search, in a variety of ways, but it will take a knowledgeable and experienced person, such as the professionals at Internet Marketing Services Inc., to know if something is likely to removed, or will require being pushed out-of-sight through content marketing. Much like public relations, reputation management is the process of creating “positive buzz” for a particular target company, brand or individual. A good public relations company will take a relatively basic company update and create a fire-storm of positive press and social media mentions from it, gaining your business a positive perception when people search for information on the target terms.

The Internet is a place where your reputation is critically important as a growing number of consumers are comparing information and searching for as much as possible – more than ever before. There is also a tremendous growth of consumer reliance on web based reviews on sites like Yelp, Facebook and others prior to making purchase decisions. Some say today’s business owner is a victim to their online reviews and whatever information is available online can and will be used against you. Consumers will use it to measure up your company, your brand, your value and more importantly – what they might experience purchasing your products or services. It’s your responsibility as a business owner or marketer to ensure what they find online is good.

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