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What is Online Reputation Management?

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What people say about you matters. What people say about your business matters. And what people read about your business on the Internet matters greatly.

These things matter for reasons beyond personal vanity. They matter because they can actually impact your bottom line. When consumers need information to help inform their next big purchase, they are bound to use search engines like Google to find it. What they read about your brand on Google could make or break your business; certainly, it could impact that consumer’s decision about whether to give you their hard-earned money.

Why Online Reputation Matters

To understand why online reputation matters, consider this example. A consumer wants to find information about your company, so she does a Google search. She sees that you have five-star ratings for all your online reviews. She sees that your business has an active blog and a helpful Facebook account. She sees plenty of good, solid information about your brand and what it stands for.

Now consider this example: A consumer looks for information about your brand, but all Google shows him is a few negative headlines, some consumer complaints, a bad BBB listing, and some lousy, two-star reviews.

Which of these consumers is most likely to give you their business? And which is most likely to look elsewhere, perhaps going to your competition instead? Both answers are obvious—and that’s why online reputation matters. It can directly impact online traffic, conversions, and ultimately sales, to say nothing of prestige and consumer trust.

Managing Your Online Reputation

Your online reputation is too important to leave it to chance. You’ve got to take control of it. That’s what the field of online reputation management is all about.

But how does online reputation management work? The goal of it is to ensure that, when people Google your brand, they see good, positive, helpful information—information that enhances your brand. As such, online reputation management includes a variety of directives:

  • Fill the search engine results pages (SERPs) with positive information about your brand—blogs, press release, etc.
  • Optimize that content so that it outranks, and thereby suppresses, any negative listings that are out there.
  • Ensure that your brand has plenty of positive reviews on review sites such as Yelp, Google, Facebook, etc.
  • Manage your social media presence so that it is active and authoritative, and provides consumers with valuable information.

Online reputation management requires the uses of various tools from the digital marketing toolbox, including everything from SEO to content marketing. It’s also something that calls for ongoing monitoring and management; it’s not something you can simply do and then be done with.

Get Help with Online Reputation Management

For all of these reasons, it is prudent to enlist the expertise of a seasoned online reputation management firm. Digital Advertiser has ample experience in this field, and we’d love to help enhance your brand’s standing on the Web.  Learn more by contacting the Digital Advertiser team.