Online Reputation Management
Do you know what people are finding when looking for your company or your products?
A client called us last week with a fairly unusual request. It seems that when searching for an extremely specific service they offer, a very adult site was ranking at the top of the first page. What made this even more unusual was that the client’s name and service was in the adult site’s title, headers and meta description tags.
We eventually managed to have the site taken down and the serps returned to normal. The short lived problem did highlight a few things that all companies should be doing whether or not they have an online presence. Its not a complete list but it does cover the basics.
Monitor your companies online presence and all mentions of your name and your brand
Whether you do it manually or set up weekly news alerts, its imperative that you be aware of who is talking about your company and what they’re saying. A news alert for your own domain is a great start and will let you know when your domain is referenced online.
Monitor search engine rankings for your core products or services
Checking to see who else is ranking well for your core products is something that should be done on an ongoing basis. It alerts you to changes in the competitive landscape that you would otherwise not notice. See one particular competitor climbing in the rankings for nearly all your products? Its time to take action.
Have a reputation management plan in place
It doesn’t take much to blemish a small companies’ reputation online. A disgruntled employee, an unhappy customer with thousands of Facebook friends or twitter followers - all can do serious damage. Remember Kevin Smith and the Southwest airlines fiasco?
Create a plan now and have it ready to go so that you can roll it out at the first sign of trouble. That way it will be done in an orderly fashion that will ensure maximum effectiveness.
