If you haven’t searched for yourself online lately, you should. The first page of results that come up is typically what the public sees when they search for you. Your public image online is what a search engine tells us in the results. If it’s negative, that can be bad for you and for business.
Reputation management online relies on SEO as a powerful tool, one that you need to know how to leverage. It can have a significant impact on how the rest of the world sees you online.
Also Read: 10 Ways to Deal With Negative Customer Feedback
Relationship Between SEO and ORM
Search engine optimization affects the prominence and visibility of a website in search results for particular keywords or search queries. SEO can be used for terms related to a business and also can be more general to attract a competitive online audience. SEO practices include improving a website, optimizing content for target keywords, developing a social media presence and other activities.
Online reputation management influences the reputation a person or business has online. It can be proactive or reactive, depending on when a strategy is adopted. ORM targets keywords specific to a brand or business, which requires an established online presence that already attracts targeted organic search traffic to benefit from reputation management practices.
The easiest way to understand how SEO and ORM are related is to think of SEO as targeting one website for a general keyword and ORM as targeting multiple websites for a specific keyword.
By implementing SEO strategies to improve your reputation online, you can diminish the prominence of negative results that appear in search queries. This allows you to present yourself or your business in the most positive way to your target audience.
Here are some key SEO reputation management strategies that can help improve your online reputation.
Identify Your Online Presence
You have to see what others see before you can develop an ORM strategy. Search for yourself or your business online to see what shows up in the results. As you review the results, consider the following:
- Is your website in the first position when you search for it? If not, where is it?
- Do you own any of the other assets that appear on the first page of the results? How high do they rank?
- Do any third-party articles or websites appear on your first page? Are they positive, negative, or neutral?
You must determine if negative results are ranking high in the search results. You also need to know where the assets you own show up before you can develop an SEO and ORM strategy. The search results will determine your next steps and guide your strategy to enhance your online reputation.
See Also: How to Improve Your Personal Online Reputation
Test Keywords
After you’ve audited the search results for yourself or your business, you should check other keywords that can lead prospects to you. Check out the suggested and related search to see where that leads. Consider other keywords related to your business, service, industry, or team, including anything that might lead to negative results about you or your company.
Secure Relevant Online Assets
After auditing your results and testing keywords, you should secure any relevant online assets that haven’t been created, including domain names relevant to your business, social media profiles, and automatically generated profiles on Google My Business or AngelList.
Additional relevant domains can help you with an ORM strategy by offering separate websites for your executives, separate functions within your organization, and client testimonials. Social media profiles give you additional platforms to share content and updates with your target audience, which can serve as more tools for your ORM strategy.
The automatically generated profiles for established businesses can provide accurate information about you or your business for prospective customers.
Must Read: How to Detect and Take Down Online Fake Reviews
Seek Professional Help
You can make the most of your online presence with a partner like Status Labs, an authority in the ORM industry. ORM experts like Status Labs audit your search results, develop an ORM strategy with you and help execute that strategy. Most ORM partners like Status Labs offer a free consultation to discuss options.
