Reputation management means making sure that your online reputation is solid. The good news is that when you do reputation management, you are also doing SEO at the same time so it kills two birds with one stone. The following is a sort of lesson on what we call Proactive Reputation Management. We like to do Proactive Reputation Management because if you get a rogue nasty review, it’s easier to wipe out if you’ve claimed your properties and have a marketing system in place. (“What to do about a bad review” will be another post coming soon.)
How it used to be. What it is now.
Traditionally, people used to find you in the print, TV, radio and word of mouth. Nowadays, there are multiple media channels shouting for attention.
In short, it used to be simple. Now it’s complicated.
The good news is that in the long run, it’s less expensive to reach your target, stay on the buyers radar and you can more easily niche your reach to a target that values your services the most. Online media is also more traceable and you can track results. That allows you to cut things that are not working and expand on that which is working.
Here is an example of how the local search ecosystem evolved
Holy Toledo Batman. That tangled web is really how things have evolved over time. And yes it is very complex.
Today’s more web savvy shopper checks you out online
So it’s important that you own your internet properties and that they have consistent information such as phone numbers and addresses. And that you have positive reviews online and you have a social media presence. Mobile sites boost your rankings. See the savvy consumer below.
Ultimately, you want your google or search engine page results to be informative and actively engaging
Below is the anatomy of a good page presence. Consequently, you want to “own” your google page with more than one listing. In other words, when they look you up by your business name, you want to make a good show with pictures, incoming links from top rated review and social media sites, positive reviews.
How do you do this? Start by organizing the chaos.
The key is claiming your internet properties, clearing up inconsistencies, getting good reviews online. This enhances your reputation and boosts your ranking. Adding a mobile site or mobile friendly site adds even more credibility.
In short, to get found in searches you have to have a lot of internet properties that link back to you. You also want to claim the properties that are yours so someone else does not!
[...] something bad happens, simply owning these properties helps bury a bad review fast. Reputation Management is a great preventive measure and a local SEO booster as well. If you want to know what reputation [...]