| In today's word of push button publishing, any company | | | | #3 Ask Content Publishers to Remove Vicious |
| can become the victim of an online attack from | | | | Attacks |
| disgruntled customers or competitors with a computer | | | | Internet reputation management experts will tell you |
| and an internet connection. Because of the nature of | | | | that you can remove some blatantly slanderous results |
| online search, negative blog posts, comments, and | | | | by contacting the content publishers where the |
| press can quickly tarnish a company's reputation if | | | | comments are posted. This is usually only the case |
| potential customers find harsh criticisms when | | | | when the comments are overtly slanderous and |
| conducting a search for your company's name. | | | | unfounded. However, many content publishers will not |
| These types of attacks can be extremely damaging | | | | remove material once it has been published. Once |
| to your reputation and profitability - especially when | | | | you've attempted to remove as much of the negative |
| they appear on the first page of search results. | | | | commentary as possible, your next plan of action |
| However, there are ways to counter them using the | | | | should be to push the negative dialog as far back in |
| same techniques applied by top Internet reputation | | | | the search engine results as possible. While quite |
| management experts. | | | | time-consuming, it is a key component. |
| #1 Monitor Your Online Presence | | | | #4 Continuously Grow Your Presence on Search |
| A key component in any Internet reputation | | | | Engines |
| management campaign is to continuously monitor what | | | | More relevant positive information, properly created, in |
| others are saying about you online. When and if | | | | the search engines related to you or your company |
| negative information is published about your company, | | | | will dilute the negative information and push it further |
| you'll want to be aware of it quickly in order to take | | | | back in the search engine results. The most effective |
| action. The simplest way to do this is to set up a | | | | way to accomplish this is by publishing more valuable |
| Google Alert for your name and your company name, | | | | content online through user-generated content sites or |
| as well as any other key terms associated with your | | | | by building optimized profiles on various social media |
| line of business. | | | | sites. Remember, the vast majority of people only |
| #2 Think Carefully Before You Retort | | | | search the first page of search results. |
| Unlike a conversation you may have with someone in | | | | Companies and individuals may need to rely on Internet |
| person, a dialog carried out in the comments section of | | | | reputation management experts to push negative |
| a blog or online forum will be recorded and leave a | | | | queries back from the first or second page of search |
| footprint online for years to come. If you learn that | | | | results to a distant place where they will seldom if |
| someone has posted a negative comment about you | | | | ever be seen. Professional internet reputation |
| or your business, your first instinct may be to type out | | | | management experts use techniques that include |
| a heated retort. Instead of replying immediately, give | | | | building entire sites, massive article publication and |
| yourself time to calm down and clearly think through | | | | distribution, press release generation and distribution, |
| your message before you reply. | | | | worldwide blogging and more. In addition, Internet |
| Once you calm down, you will likely regret what you | | | | reputation management experts are skilled in search |
| may have said in the heat of the moment and worse, | | | | engine optimization techniques and understand how |
| possibly enabled the negative publicity to rise in search | | | | and why search engines rank pages, thus making their |
| results. | | | | efforts even more effective. |