Pimp My Keywords

Tracking Your Online Reputation: SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 213

Whether you like it or not, people on the Internet are talking about you, your company, your products and services.

Their comments might be good. They might be bad. They might be fake.

Regardless, you need to track your online reputation for several reasons, including:

• Thank someone publicly for their good comments, review, etc.
• Join in the conversation if someone is asking if your product or service can help them solve a problem.
• Head off any problem areas in which false statements or unsavory reviews arise.

People are talking whether you are listening or not.

Here are a few steps and some tools you can use to help better track your online reputation:

• At least twice a month (more if there's a problem), you should use Google and other search engines to search on your personal name; company name; brand name, etc. Check the Top 30 search results for any problem areas.
• By utilizing your Google account, you can create Google Alerts on targeted keywords. Google will automatically send you regular reports anytime Google finds results that match your terms.
• Use Twitter to search on targeted keywords and terms.
• Check out ScoutLabs.com and ViralHeat.com for additional social media monitoring services.
• Read more about Purple Trout's online reputation management and repair services.

Online Reputation Management Strategies: SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 189

Bad news travels fast. Therefore, when negative news about your business, products and you reaches the Internet, you must react to avoid a nasty avalanche.

Remember, handle negativity professionally and also remain positive. If it's a negative review, try your best to handle it through the citation/review website. This shows potential customers that you're willing to resolve the problem.

However, when negative reviews, news, comments, etc., start to impact your overall search engine optimization efforts, then you must take a different approach.

Here's a strategic example:

Search Google on your company name. Review every search result within the Top 30 to see if there's anything negative about your company, products, services, executive team, staff, etc.

In almost all cases, you'll never be able to have the negative item removed from the offending website.

Instead, you're going to have to use some online reputation management techniques to "push down" the negative item in search results and utilize search engine optimization techniques to improve positive items in search results.

Therefore, if the negative listing about your company is No. 4 in Google, can you utilize some SEO techniques to help improve the items in the No. 5 through No. 10 positions so they will move above the No. 4 item? If you have full control over the items ranking below the negative result, you definitely have opportunities for better optimization and improvement in search results.

Some online reputation management techniques include writing better (and more) blog posts; writing an article; producing a press release; sponsoring or hosting an event; writing a white paper; producing a video; recording a podcast, etc.

Social media should also be a strong tool in your ORM efforts. Here, your strategy should be positive and your firm should be active in many social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc.). Talk with your clients here. Ask questions. Help them solve their problems.

The best time for online reputation management is when you don't need online reputation management. Most ORM techniques are items business owners should be doing year round and not waiting for a panic alarm to start desperate measures.

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"Pimp My Keywords" is written and published by Purple Trout, LLC. Visit our website for more information about our search engine optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), online reputation management and more. We also offer a free SEO Analysis to help evaluate your business' website with Google and other search engines.

Online Reputation Management & Responding To Bad Reviews & Comments: SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 188

So, you've discovered a bad post, Tweet, review, blog or comment about your business, brand, etc.

Now what?

First, don't fly off the handle and respond. There will be a time and place for a professional response. Yes, if there is a nasty review about your company's service, you'll want to respond, but not yet.

Second, review the website that contains content harmful to your online reputation. In some cases, especially for review websites, mapping sites, etc., the comment may violate the website's terms of service. If this is the case, you should report the violation for review by the website and possible removal.

Note: We have had clients experience instances in which the negative comment, review, etc., did violate the website's terms of service. Although the comment was eventually removed, the "writer" tried again with another post. This time, the post not only fell within the site's terms of service, but since it was recently posted, the negative review was published higher in the website reviews.

Third, if the review, comment, etc., cannot be reviewed, you have several options to consider, including:

• replying to the post.
• ignoring the post.
• using other online reputation management techniques to "bury" the post in search results. Some refer to this method as "reverse search engine optimization management."

No one has a "special partnership" with Yelp, CitySearch, Google, etc., and therefore no one can promise they can get negative reviews removed. This is a scam. Do not waste your money.

Replying to the post is not a bad idea, especially in a review situation. Your reply should offer a sincere apology and an offer to improve the relationship with the disgruntled customer. This shows goodwill and other potential customers will see you are willing to solve any problems.

If the review is fake (sometimes written by a former employee or competition), they will probably not respond to your offer to solve the problem.

Ignoring the post is not a good idea. If you can't respond to the comment, review, article, etc., then you must apply some other online reputation management techniques to improve the situation.

Online Reputation: SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 187

Whether you like it or not, people are going to talk about you on the Internet.

It might be good. It might be bad.

Either way, you should be monitoring your online reputation on the following:

• Your company name
• Various versions of your company name
• Owner's name
• Board of Directors' names
• Brand or Product names

No, you're not interested in if your company is ranked No. 1 in Google on your company name (let's hope it is). Instead, you should be conducting searches on the aforementioned items and checking for bad posts; bad press releases; bad reviews; bad blog posts and anything negative about your company.

If this statement is true - 80% of all potential customers search for and read your website before making a purchase - then you certainly don't want the dirty stuff appearing high in search results.

Check the Top 30 search results - often - for anything negative about your company, products, services, brand etc.

Take it a step further and create Google Alerts so you'll be notified anytime your targeted keywords are published online.

Have you or your company encountered an online reputation issue?

Next week, we'll dig a little deeper on how to react to and solve online reputation problems.