It’s very difficult to build a great online reputation and all too easy to have it disappear instantly with a couple of negative reviews or mentions in social media. Due to the nature of Google, in that it is all about having the latest news and reviews, it’s not uncommon to find unpleasant entries which have staying power near the top of the search results for your company.
There are steps you can take on a daily basis to minimize the effects of these events, and we’ve complied a handy list you can use every day to help manage your online reputation!
6 Tips to enhance your online reputation on a daily basis!
- Monitor – The Web is a gigantic place, and you need to be monitoring what is said about you and your company. Doing this on your own is a full time job, so be sure to use some of the great tools available for finding what’s being said about you. Some of these are Google Alerts, Mention, and Topsy, among many.
- Solicit reviews – Ask your best customers to help you out by making positive reviews for you. Doing this on a regular basis helps push any negatives further down the search results where they won’t be found.
- Be Nice – It should go without saying that if you are being less than gracious in your dealings with your public, it will return to bite you where, well, you know where. Be nice, even when it hurts!
- Search Google – Make regular searches of Google for name, product and keyword mentions associated with your company. Being proactive in this regard will definitely pay dividends! Also, don’t forget to look at Google Images for product images tied to reviews.
- Add positive content – Make it a practice to add new, positive content that will offset negative entries. This can be done with guest posts or content on popular Web 2.0 sites like Tumblr and Squidoo.
- Link out to positive mentions – Make sure and link out to positive reviews of your site. This serves two purposes: outgoing authority links along with highlighting your content in Google.
It’s no picnic looking after your online reputation. But in this era where one can be trashed in an instant, it’s absolutely necessary!
