The internet has made it easier than ever for consumers to find and buy from brands online. But what are they going to find when they search for your business? In this article, we’re going to show you how to find the best online reputation management service to keep your business’s online presence glowing.
Now let’s talk about how to choose the best reputation management service for your business.
The ways to choosing the best ORM
1. Determine Your Goals
Before you take the plunge and hire an online reputation management service, think about what you want to get from the experience.
Do you want to simply monitor and improve your online reputation? What about your social media channels? Are you thinking about working on your SEO so you can rank higher in search results and bring in more traffic? Do you want a company that can help you get more positive reviews and manage the reviews that you get? Or you want a company that focuses on reputation sciences. Your business is unique and your goals are, too. It’s important to really consider what you want from online reputation management before reaching out and getting dazzled by everything these companies have to offer.
2. Research Your Top Contenders
After you have a good idea of your goals, you’re going to need to do research to find the right company for you.
Google the company and see what shows up. You’ll likely find some online reviews and maybe even articles written by previous customers.
It’s not enough to understand that the corporate avoids black-hat tactics. You need to know that this company you’re thinking of hiring to maintain your own positive reputation has a good reputation of their own.
3. Focus on How They Make You Feel
Once you’ve narrowed your search to a few companies, it’s time to reach out to them and ask questions.
Find out if you’ll have a project manager that will be your point of contact or could you potentially be talking to someone different each time you call?
Also, be sure to ask for case studies from businesses they’ve helped that are just like yours.
Also read: Reputation management software
Throughout these interactions, you’re looking for indications that this company will be easy to work with and that they genuinely care about the clients they take on.
You want to work with an online reputation management service that asks questions about your business so they can understand what you’re looking for instead of a company that’s only interested in making the sale.
Red Flags: What to Avoid
We’ve mentioned black-hat tactics as something to avoid, but what are they, and why are they so bad? After all, black-hat tactics tend to work very quickly… isn’t that a good thing?
Not to search engines, it isn’t.
Black-hat tactics are bad because search engines could potentially ban you if you’re caught using them. Plus, many of them are spammy and dishonest.
Here are some of the tactics you need to avoid (and make sure that the online reputation management service you hire doesn’t use):
Astroturfing: Creating fake accounts on review websites that they use to write positive reviews about your business. This can also include paying other real users to write down positive reviews on your behalf.
Fake websites: Similar to astroturfing, this black-hat tactic involves using fake websites and blogs to create more search results with the goal of hiding negative results about your business.
Keyword stuffing: This is the practice of using as many keywords as possible in your content and metadata with no regard for the reader. Want more information? Here’s why your audience matters more than your keywords.
Invisible text: This is along the same lines as keyword stuffing, but in this case, someone might put tons of keywords in the footer of their site in the text that’s the same color as the page’s background.
Spambots: Using spam bots, denial of service attacks, or hacking to make it difficult for people to access negative content about a company is a definite no-no.
Focus on finding an online reputation management company that doesn’t even play with ethical gray areas. Instead, place a high value on honesty and transparency.
Wrapping Up
Negativity can destroy the business that you’ve built. While the internet is great for free speech, so many people now have the ability to share negative opinions of your brand.
Digital Marketing Agency reputation management services can build and maintain a positive online reputation in search results and across different social channels while reducing and in some cases even eliminating negative results and coverage.
We do this by building your online presence across different channels, including press release distributors, web forums, and popular social media websites.
The internet never sleeps. Online reviews and communications can crop up at any hour of the day. Building and maintaining a positive online image requires constant vigilance. We actively monitor the chatter and online reviews that affect our clients and act accordingly regardless of the time of day or night.
Ready to build the best online reputation for your brand? Contact us today!
