Small Business Internet Reputation Management

For many small business owners, a substantial increase in internet promotions and online brand presence also presents more opportunities for dissatisfied customers, disgruntled employees or even local competitors to tarnish a reputation with negative reviews and untruthful feedback.

Consumers are increasingly more internet savvy. They’re researching companies and individuals on Google, Yahoo! and Bing before making online purchases or deciding to work with a specific company. Negative reviews about your small business, whether they are truthful or not, can leave a bad taste in your prospects mouth.

For the small business owner, there are simple steps you can take to be proactive in responding to less than satisfied customers or those out to harm your company name – without paying a fortune for Reputation Management Services.

Less than 2% of all online searches ever advance beyond the first page of the search results. You can use this to your advantage by pushing negative reviews, blog posts or articles off of the first page of search results and down into the internet abyss for good.

5 Simple Steps For Small Business Reputation Management

1. Signup For Google Alerts. Google Alerts is a powerful tool used to monitor the internet for new content published online that references your specified keywords. Enter your name, your business name and your business website address to be alerted by email the instant anything is posted online in reference to your specified keywords. You’ll be supplied with website addresses of the content that was published so that you may review and respond to any positive or negative reviews or comments.

2. Setup a Facebook Fan Page For Your Business. If you don’t have one yet – get one. Facebook Fan Pages can rank quickly within the search engines for your company name, helping to push down any negative reviews or comments in the search results.

3. Start a Company Blog. Blogs that are configured directly on your company website can help boost your search engine rankings, as well as capture rankings for additional keyword phrases. Speak about yourself, your personal thoughts and ideas, your company, your products, services and your associates. Make sure to respond promptly to visitors commenting on your blog posts and you’ll quickly build a rapport with your audience while reinforcing your online reputation. If you don’t have the ability to develop a blog directly on your company domain, consider the most popular (and free) blogging platforms WordPress or Blogger.

4. Submit Optimized Videos. Create and submit simple videos where you speak about yourself, your company, products or services. If you’re a little apprehensive about getting in front of the camera, consider a Powerpoint presentation or a quick slideshow video using free software such as Microsoft Movie Maker.

5. Submit Optimized Press Releases. Create and submit online press releases that highlight your business, products, services, an outstanding employee or an upcoming event or promotion. Many people are unaware that your standard media press releases can be crafted specifically for the internet, and can quickly boost your search engine rankings.

Keep in mind that the purpose of submitting optimized content (blog posts, press releases, videos, social updates, etc.) for your small business internet reputation management, is to push the negative reviews and comments off of the first page of search results. To successfully do this, you’ll need a general understanding of basic Search Engine Optimization.

Ensure that your name, your company name, your company website address or targeted keywords appear in the TITLE and CONTENT of the material you publish online.

Do you have other quick reputation management tips that could be helpful to other small business owners? Leave a comment below!

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