How to Manage Your Business Online Reputation
Everyone turns to the Internet to conduct some type of research on goods or services, and when it comes to the Web, your products are only as good as everyone says they are. So any information posted to the internet, about your services or products, has to be reputable. As a business, if you want to be successful, it’s absolutely critical you keep a close eye on your reputation, or you might as well expect to fail.
Online reputation management implementation is a growing field, a result of an increased need to protect online reputations for businesses. Professional services are often linked to effective Search Engine Optimization practices, requiring information to be posted to the web that puts a business in a favorable light.
Still, even if you don’t require the services of a professional, you should monitor search engine results relating to your company to ensure there is no derogatory information there. If you do need to be further concerned with your reputation, then you should avail yourself of internet reputation management tools that emphasize positive information and comments about your business thereby minimizing the existing negative information.
Reputation management is a growing trend, and one that requires attention. Even Google offers a page with specific advice that should be followed, which includes:
1 – The Search Engine Tools
To check your business reputation you must use the search engines to find information about your business. Start with Google as it is the widest used search engines, and type in several versions of your company name to see what appears. Do the same on the Bing and Yahoo search engines. Remember, to use alternate spellings of your company name.
2 – Configure Google Alerts
Google Alerts can inform you of any new information posted to the web that relates to your business. This is any easy system to set up and only requires you to fill out the information required by Google Alerts. Once set up you receive emails of blogs, information or websites that refer to your business.
3 – Scan the Social Networks
This can be another important reputation management tool because social networks like Twitter, Google+ and Facebook are all determining business branding factors. These make the perfect venue to complain about a company. Although, you can’t always control what people say about you on these networks you can respond to their comments. But whatever you do, always respond in a pleasant, courteous way.
4 – Use the Review Websites
Look at your reviews. Websites like Yelp can significantly affect your business in a very negative way. Just as you could easily get a one star negative review for something, you can manage to get customers who have had positive experiences to submit updated reviews, which will replace the negative one.
Keeping track of your online reputation can take hours of work and require several different internet tools to compensate negative information with positive. This is why many professionals or small businesses find it in their best interest to contract the services of a professional reputation management company.
