Everything on the internet is public. Even if you send a personal email or are on a privacy protected website, it is so easy to share that you should presume that anything might go public. So Rule One in reputation management is
Don’t Say Anything Online that You Wouldn’t Want Published on the Front Page of Your Newspaper.
Consider everything online to be permanently online. Even if you successfully get someone to remove a negative comment or article, it might have been republished on another website or remain in the cache files. Far better to be proactive and keep negativity off the net.
Get on the Map has successfully:
Helped client raise Yelp from 2.5 Stars to 4 Stars Helped client bring positive press to front page of Google Helped client bury negative news article Helped client bury unflattering photos in Google images
Rule Two in reputation management is
Continuously Monitor What is Said About You and Your Business Online.
The only way to combat negative information online is with counter-punch of positive information. Most of the time, the negative information cannot be removed, but it can be buried. Using an aggressive search engine optimization strategy, you can move positive information up the ladder in the search results, so that the consumer sees the good information first. The easiest way to do this is to create complete profiles on the popular social media platforms, then optimize them to show at the top of Google.
Rule Three in reputation management is
Fully participate in Social Media now, so you’re ready if you ever need it.
I’ve helped people with reputation management who have been in dire straits, unable to find a job because of bad news reports about them online. I’ve also helped people whose problem is a couple of negative yelp reviews that made them unhappy and worried that prospects were discouraged from calling them.
If you’ve got a problem, call Julie Gallaher at 916-265-2521.
Here are some reputation management posts.
Reputation Management 101
Yelp, A Dangerous Networking Site
Have You Yelped Today?
Political Reputation Management
What’s Your Reputation: What Should You Be Monitoring