Because of the rise of social media and the importance of the internet for business uses, reputation management has become vitally important. Getting high rankings in search engines for your business helps protect you from negative reviews and bad press.
Reputation Management helps companies eliminate or lower the harm created by negative Internet reviews that are showing high rankings on searches for their company, brand names or individuals connected with the business. Removing the offending pages is not always possible; however, the targeted use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Marketing helps to lowers these pages in search engine rankings off the first page and onto the second or lower, where they will be “buried” and attract less attention.
Build a Website and Optimize it
Even if your company works primarily offline, it is vitally important to create your own website and then effectively optimize it. This means either hiring a designer to create you a fantastic website that is memorable and stands out from your competitors.
You need to optimize it by using SEO techniques like using appropriate keywords and using content relevant to what your company offers or sells. You should choose a domain name that matches your business name exactly or if that is already taken, a name that describes what you do; and it should be fairly short and memorable. A more advanced tip, own any related domain names as well; for example, any .com, .org or .net domain.
Promote yourself on Social Media
A business today must promote themselves via social networking sites like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest etc. if they wish to have a presence online. If you are able to create videos, then open a YouTube channel advertising yourself and providing information your customers want to know. For every social networking account, make sure you use your company name or your own name so your customers can find you easily.
Network with other Blog Owners
You can promote yourself on related blog websites, where you create your own account and post your knowledge on relevant topics. You can approach the blog owner and mention cross-promoting each other and linking back to the other’s website.
Press Releases and Articles
A great promotional tool is to write press releases and articles and submit them at popular websites like PR.com. You can also create an App or perhaps a Podcast if your customers not only buy services from you but look for information as well.
Reviews on Websites like Yelp and Google Local
Your company can benefit from receiving positive reviews from trusted websites like Google Local and Yelp, among others. Visitors and previous clients review your customer service and products, so other users can see their experience with you. The more positive reviews you have, the better your ratings and page views will be; leading to more sales.
These methods work to promote your business and will help to gain you higher search rankings on Google, Yahoo or Bing. The more positive an online reputation your company has, the more likely you will reside on the first pages of search engine results.
If you would like an audit of your online reputation, please contact me and I will provide you with a Reputation Management Report for your business.