Managing Your Online Reputation

Everyone NEEDS to manage their Online Reputation!

When doing business online, there is nothing more painful than to hear that a potential customer "Googled" your company or personal name and will not be doing business with you because of what they read online.

Today, you are defined by what appears on Google, Yahoo and Bing. In fact, hundreds of thousands of dollars are lost each day because of false, erroneous or misleading search engine results. Whether the negative listings are from a competitor, a news site or a message board, the impact can be financially challenging at best and devastating at worst. The good news is that for the most part, YOU can do something about it.

At Peak Consulting we know how important it is that you have a positive online reputation and so have put together the following Six Keys To Managing Your Online Reputation:

1. Your reputation is your responsibility.

   The first step is to recognize that you alone are responsible for managing the reputation of your business and your life. Doing nothing, or counting on more laws, is not an answer. In the USA with their First Amendment rights, offensive content, once entered, is often untouchable, and the sources are immune from liability.

2. Actively monitor what people are saying about you. 

   You may assert that monitoring the entire Internet space is an impossible problem. Fortunately, there are already tools out there, like Google Alerts (free) and ReputationDefender, which can do the work for you, and send you a daily email report of every link where your name or brand appears.

3. Proactively build a positive reputation. 

   Maintaining a good reputation means you have to build one early and maintain it. There is a big difference between no reputation with one negative comment, versus 1000 indications of a positive reputation and one negative. Most people accept that no person or organization is perfect.

4. Quickly address every negative. 

   Many negative customer experiences can actually be turned into positives, if you quickly and unemotionally acknowledge the problem, resolve it, and spread the positive message before the negative one gets amplified. Don’t emulate the “United Breaks Guitar” experience.

5. Push negative content out of view.

    In reality, most people will never find negative content, unless a link appears on the first page of search engine results. With the right focus on search engine optimization, or the help of niche companies like DefendMyName, you can usually push negative links out of sight into the swamp of the Internet.

6. Remove unwanted content, where possible. 

   Removing your content from the Web is not as easy as canceling your accounts, nor is it completely impossible. You can easily remove content you own (comments on your site or accounts) otherwise experts like Reputation Defender, have proprietary techniques to correct or completely remove other unwanted content.

Peak Consulting understands the extent of online reputation problems and accepts that for some, you may have to look to a professional Online Reputation Management and Repair Service such as ours, to help you get your name back under your control.

The important thing here is arresting the decline today and implimenting a solution that builds for tomorrow. By following the above six keys, you can start managing your own online reputation and at least give yourself the best possible chance of success.