Managing Fallout and Building a Rep

We’ve all been there. The disgruntled employee, the angry customer, the screw up that we may or may not be guilty of. Somehow our personal or business name is getting slammed. Maybe its not even you, but someone with the same name. Here’s nine easy steps to claiming your name online and bumping bad stuff off the first page – or at least below the fold!

Even if the front page opf Google is mute about you, now is the time to act! Whether you are an individual or a business, your online ranking may show you need to take a proactive approach. Google results represent you whether you like it or not. Reputation management or personal branding has to be taken into account in this day and age of ’Google it/him/her/them.

1. Register your name on Social Sites
How many times do we have to repeat that social search is where it’s at. These are great places to start managing your rep, especially for low competition names. If your name is more common, you will need to get a bit more creative with how you use these.

2. Have someone interview you.
Do a reciprocal interview, or three way interview if necessary – outbound links don’t hurt you, remember? Use your blog.

3. Volunteer content on something you’re knowledgeable about.
Most sites would love to have some free content. Ask them to give you a bio, and link to some #1 sites – or embed links yourself.

4. Own a .com, .net, and .org. in your name or close to it
You should own at LEAST one of these. Is your name Andrew Anderson? Use creativeness – Andrewandersonblog.com or Andrew-Anderson1.net will work as long as you are making sure your name is in the domain. Write a couple pages about yourself, put up some pictures and start an online presence.

5. Start several new sites and put your name in the title tag.
Repeat #4 with alter egos or domain names you picked up over the years and never did anything with. Put them to use. Hosting is cheap! Use your name in the title, url, and any other place you can cram it.

6. Make some videos or even a podcast
A digital camera will work if that’s all you’ve got. With universal search, these will show up SERPs. Most industries have pod casts, and hosts are always looking for guests so be proactive and pitch a show idea to them.

7. Put a few pictures using proper alt text and captions
This ensures you are optimized for image search. Hotlink to them from several different places, and presto, Automatic visibility.

8. Sign up on forums using your real name
A really good comment about something you know something about could start showing up in search pretty quickly!

9. Do a press release about how you did something.
You just built a website/joined Facebook/ had an epiphany. You’re optimizing for your name, so be shamelessly self promotive.