Ways to incorporate SEO and social media to protect your online reputation

When a person searches for your brand, business or personal name online, what they should normally find is your website, blog and the rest of the social media profiles that you have. However, for most of the businesses out there, what ranks on top of the search result are always complaints, bad reviews and a whole bunch of negative content. In comes “Reputation Management” to the rescue which is the practise of monitoring what is said and fight against negative content.

Since you always want to look better online, here are a few tips that you can use to protect your reputation.

• First and foremost, you have to understand what Online Reputation Management (ORM) is. And does everyone require ORM? They sure do. In short, ORM as mentioned earlier is about knowing what other people are talking about you online, knowing where this is said, how it is repaired and how you can monitor and also control these negative mentions at the same time. Did you know that SEO and ORM had a few similarities between them? As an expert puts it, ORM is about controlling positive press about your business, brand and name while holding back the negatives. The more positive feedback, the better your business looks and SEO companies love it.

• With the change of times, you don’t have to manually look up your brand to see where it ranks on Google. There is software to make it more automated while it can keep you regularly updated on new mentions. A free tool such as “Google Alerts” allows you to type a name to monitor and Google sends you an email every time it finds a new mention in its search results. There are also premium sites that you can use to monitor all across the web. There is no need to hire a separate team and search for bad mentions. You can sit back and allow the software to do the searching and alerting for you.

• Don’t be afraid to “own” your search results. This simply means to have as many page one rankings for your business, brand or personal name as possible. Remember that the more high quality social sites you are able to secure, the more likely your business is to rank multiple times on the main page. What you can do is to have a blog that offers unique content and then build up relationships gradually with influencers who have an audience that you will also want. Promote your content across all channels and you will own page one.

• Responding immediately to Social Media mentions is one. It is also quite important that you should know how and why you should respond to these mentions. A review of a business or product is considered as a powerful and effective tool to persuade someone to take action during a buying process. Sites such as TripAdvisor are a perfect example with millions of reviews and where viewers depend on, to make their holiday memorable.

Brands will also need blogs, social networks, forums and feedback for their mentions. Many high end brands actively respond to these mentions which is a great way to maintain their online reputation. People have advanced and are using other people’s reviews and social media to resolve issues, buy products etc. So, be prepared to respond to your mentions since a simple complaint can result in a drop in sales.

• Show your authoritative presence by having a blog of your own since it is one of the most powerful tools that you can have online. In order to own your content you should create a blog around your business or for your personal growth. Having a blog will also allow you to create and share original content while you can make it more interactive by adding video interviews and podcasts. When this happens, the content is visible on your site as well as the person who is being interviewed. Since having a blog is a like building a two way conversation, it is considered as a cost-effective marketing tool to build a perfect online reputation.

• Show New Audiences that you have the Authority in your space. Thanks to the evolution of the Internet, you can establish your brand, authority and expertise. Reaching new audiences has become convenient while you can carry this out with professional level content marketing, press coverage, guest blogging, and social media mentions.

Always remember that no matter what tool or tactic that you use, your reputation finally comes down to what you make of it. As the saying goes, it might take years to build up your reputation and minutes to ruin it. So, put these ways to practise and shine through.