News Source: http://www.searchenginepeople.com
Published: Nov 22, 2008 - 11:33 am
Story Found By: UtahSEOpro 1179 Days ago
Category: SEM
There is obviously a great deal of power in being able to hide certain search results from the majority of searchers. With this power however, comes great responsibility. This responsibility becomes even more important if one considers that there are currently no guidelines to help guide us through the murky waters of morality. Reputation Management online is therefore akin to the wild wild west … the rancher with the most money calls the shots!
1 Comments
Comments
Something I’ve often come across in my own management here is that negative reports are often outdated, even by a few years, and relate to previous management failings. I would never take on a company whom I didn’t believe offered good business practices, and certainly would never take on a client with an awful business reputation in order to try and hide this fact. I have turned down general SEO contracts from such companies. Instead, I think ORM has more in common with spin doctoring - you can’t hide the truth, but you can try and draw attention to more positive stories than negative.In fact, I don’t treat ORM as a separate service anyway, and instead combine it with a social media approach, by getting the company to release news and information - not least via blogging - which builds on their strengths and especially addresses past criticisms. This way, it’s not a case of trying to hide bad news even when old, as much as promote new strategioes, new customer care initiatives, and the greater openess and accountability the company has now compared to a few years ago.This message can then be taken out across various niche communities where such clients are likely to be a conversation point, and then draw these conversations towards the more positive aspects - often co-ordinating new blog content with the client in order to take this to specific points raised in such conversations to show they are listening, and drawing in a client representative for a quick PR word where relevant.This, I think, it more how ORM should be - not simply reactive, but proactive as well. It’s all about giving a basic direction to conversation, rather than trying to bury it.2c.