SEO TIPS: Reputation Management Can't Wait

An online reputation crisis is one of the most feared phrases known to webmasters. You can potentially lose a large portion of your visitors if negative feedback and reviews about your brand, products or services get listed in the search results. It’s one thing to feel the wrath of Google – there is a way you can go step by step and reclaim what was yours. A reputation crisis is filled with variables few webmasters understand. You have to be well prepared against all kinds of online reputation attacks as each attack is serious. Today as many webmasters have already faced the wrath of online reputation crisis, many of them are taking pre-emptive measures to fight online crisis. This is in fact the best approach to deal with reputation crisis because no matter what, you have the upper hand.

It is common practice now to check companies out by making sure that they are choosing the right brand or the right products. You will not be able to take any chances when it comes to your brand reputation; it is the key to your success online. Do not wait until something horrible happens to take action because then it is already too late. Begin building your positive brand reputation before something bad happens. Take control! Spend time creating a positive image online so that if there is an attack against your brand, your positive image you spent time building up already will guard you. People will see the idiotic for what it is and disregard it.
You can make use of social bookmarking, blog commenting, blog review posting, press release distribution etc.. as ways to spread your name and positive image.

There are numerous options. Whereas before the proliferation of Web 2.0 properties, there is now a variety of ways to reach out to customers. More and more people are becoming very highly active on the internet for everything from shopping and surfing to transacting business. Use this to boost your brand image. Look for high traffic networks and popular social media to build your online brand reputation. Be active, but don’t be

a spammer! That is another reputation problem you can easily avoid by being smart.
Do not panic if your brand falls under attack – panic leads to bad choices. Take the right steps and implement swift action to minimize any damage that is caused by the attack against your brand. This is not the time to research on the source of the attack. You will have to concentrate now on pushing down the negative results from the search engine results. Suppression is the first step after identifying the attack. Timeliness does matter and can make the difference between success in 30 days or 6 months.

Identify the keywords that got the negative feedbacks and negative reviews listed in the first place. Once identified, you need to post content that is optimized around those keywords to combat the negative usage. This is a scenario in which a mass attack works wonders. Multiple press release article distribution will help in this regard since search engines pick up press releases faster than any other type of content posted online. Timing is highly crucial. Being swift is everything.
Do not lose any time dawdling around wondering what to do and asking for 50 opinions. Don’t brood over what is happening – ACT!  The longer the negative results stay online, the greater the damages it can and likely will cause to your brand.

Upon pushing down the negative feedback and reviews to reasonably safe and manageable  levels, respond to the attack directly by giving your side of the story in the same forum or blog in which negative review has been posted. This way the internet users will be able to get the right picture of what happened. This also sends a not so subtle message that you will take action against malicious attacks.

In many cases, the negative feedback and reviews exaggerate the issues and are beyond reason. They have to be sensationalized to get attention. Make sure you give your target audience the correct version of the story as this effort will certainly help in the long run because you will then have a record of what has happened even if someone should stumble upon the negative feedback several months later. A professional reputation management company can help you get back on track. If you are not comfortable defending your reputation on your own, do not hesitate to bring in professional help.