By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-09-04 12:49:43 | Word Count: 664
Building a brand takes years, but a negative comment, especially one that is highly visible on search engine rankings, can tarnish a company’s image in a small fraction of the time. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a central Internet Marketing process which effectively serves to establish a brand; those actively engaging in onsite and offsite SEO processes are actually also engaging in Brand Reputation Management.
In the absence of SEO processes, how do you manage your brand reputation in the face of negativity online? The most challenging aspects of Brand Reputation Management are dealing directly with negative publicity and regularly distributing new, original, and fresh SEO content. The best way to combat any negative publicity is to face it with positive content; articles, blogs, and press releases. Content should always be fresh and regularly updated so that negative publicity is pushed down in search engine results pages (SERPs).
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If you are not actively engaging in SEO yet and find negative comments, the need for Brand Reputation Management becomes the highest priority. Many companies do not realize that recent negative comments may appear first on search engine rankings, damaging their online reputation and negatively affect brand recognition. Negative posts that cannot be removed need to be addressed assertively. Reputation Management works to remove or refute negative posts or comments. However, it is often necessary to effectively compete with and push down, or make less visible in the search engines. This can only be accomplished through consistent implementation of quality content that will be seen by Google, Bing and Yahoo as more relevant for the relevant keywords and phrases being searched. Reputation Management needs to be at the forefront of a business, especially in the face of negativity online.
Blogging can also be used to promote negative publicity about a company that a blogger has ill feelings towards, whether they are disgruntled former employees or dissatisfied customers. Many blogs have started as a way to attack a business that the blogger felt was harmful or disruptive to their beliefs. These negative remarks can be scathing, and worse—unfounded.
Reputation Management Services serve to effectively address any and all online activity that negatively affects your reputation and keep your business respectable. While SEO is the proactive and better choice over the long haul, when negatives occur online, you have little choice but to address it in a reactive way with Brand Reputation Management.
The key to building or repairing an online reputation is to show that the company takes an active interest in reaching out to its consumer base. Brand Reputation Management is done through many different processes, and it requires a multifaceted approach; Optimum7 provides clients with the appropriate Brand Reputation Management tools, including social networking tools, SEO and the positive PR necessary to counter the negative publicity found online.
Seeking to protect your Brand online? Contact us today!
