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10 ways to maintain a sunny online reputation

August 28, 2012 Written by NetSphere Category: Social Media
10 ways to maintain a sunny online reputation
To manage an online reputation, the first order of business is to create an online presence. At this point in the game, however, it’s reasonable to believe that most companies have already done so. For those who haven’t, stop reading this post and get to work already!
 
But seriously, when people search for your business, it’s best that they not have to look long and when they do find you in a Google search, it’s also ideal that what they find is positive press. If there’s any negativity lurking in the World Wide Web, there are a few ways to combat it. CIO.com has provided the following 10 online reputation management tips to help companies protect their brands.
 
1. Optimize Your Site with Your Company Name.
 
Google hones in on authoritativeness on a topic and by attaching your company name to your online content, you'll help keep those pages at or near the top of search results. As long as your own content rises to the top of a Google search, the not-so-positive content will be harder to find.
 
CIO.com suggests placing your company name in important places such as the HTML title tag and URL (if possible) as well as on pages that describe your company, such as the about-us or contact-us pages. And be sure to use the third-person voice as opposed to the first person. It allows the company name to be inserted into dialogue. Although “We do it best,” sounds good, “the XYZ Company does it best” will get you where you need to be in Google’s search results.
 
2. Diversify Your Web Presence.
 
“To achieve top 10 dominance, your Web presence should be spread out among your company's site, related blogs, and social media networks such as LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook Fan pages, YouTube and Twitter. Google's search engine technology views these social network sites as authoritative and trustworthy; both are important factors in how highly content on those sites is ranked,” CIO.com explains.
 
3. If You Have to Choose One Social Network, Make It LinkedIn.
 
If you absolutely don’t have time for the entire range of social media options, Patrick Ambron, CEO and founder ofBrand Yourself, an online reputation management service, says that LinkedIn profiles tend to rank higher than some other social media network content. He also says that in the case of B2B companies, many people search on LinkedIn instead of Google for professional services.
 
4. Get Other Sites to Link to Yours with Anchor Text—But Don't Overdo It.
 
By asking others to link to you using keyword-rich text, often times ye’ shall receive. However, it’s good to be linked back with a variety of phrases. So don't ask everyone to link to your site using the same anchor text. Google rewards those who spice it up with various terms.
 
5. Proactively Monitor Your Search Results at Least Once a Month.
 
Google your company name and do it at least once a month. This way, you’ll be on top of the game if, unfortunately, bad press surfaces about your business. And it’s good to dig deep. Check on the second, third and fourth search pages where negative press is often found.
 
6. To Counteract Negative Content, Contact Its Creator.
 
Because you’re monitoring your online presence on a regular basis, you’ll be able to spot negative content when it happens. At that point, don’t be shy. Contact the person who created the content and find out if there’s anything that you can do to change their perception of your company. “If that doesn't work, leave a comment (when possible) to give your side of the story,” CIO.com says. “Explain what you're doing or have done to make the situation right.”
 
7. Pay Attention to Your Offline Reputation, Too.
 
Talking to your clients and customers and encouraging them to share their feedback with you is essential. If they’re happy, ask them to report their sentiment online on sites like Yelp. If they’re not, find out what you can do to correct the situation in the non-online world.
 
8. Send Out Optimized Press Releases on a Regular Basis.
 
“Believe it or not, search-optimized press releases can rank highly in Google for relevant keyword searches, giving your company another opportunity to own a top Google slot,” CIO.com reports. “For instance, Sorenson posted a release on PRWeb that is optimized for the phrase corporate online reputation management. Even though the release was posted in April, it still ranked within the top five Google results for that phrase as of early August.”
 
9. Pay Attention to Your Wikipedia Page.
 
We here at NetSphere understand that a lot of our clients don’t have Wikipedia pages – or at least not yet. But when you do grow to be the size that Wikipedia will recognize, be familiar with your page. However, according to Wikipedia’s community guidelines, being directly involved with your page is a conflict of interest. What you can do is contact the Wiki community if there happens to be incorrect information about your company.
 
10. Don't Expect Miracles.
 
“It's so important to proactively own or at least influence top Google search results because it's extremely difficult to push down negative content when it surfaces,” CIO.com concludes.
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Abbe Miller is the marketing manager at NetSphere Strategies, located just outside Chicago. NetSphere Strategies is a boutique eCommerce company positioned to help businesses transform their online presence by providing a full complement of services that starts with our strategic consulting and creative design teams, then continues with building innovative solutions and providing ongoing post-project support.