March 9, 2009

CitySquares Tweaks Their Search (and Rocks Online Reputation Management in the Process!)

Last week CitySquares announced the expansion of their local search to all 50 states. In my coverage of the announcement, I noticed that typing in my hometown of Raleigh brought up no results.

CitySquares Lead Developer Michael LeBarron noticed the post and commented on the blog that indeed Raleigh was included in the expansion.

I emailed him privately to tell him how I was conducting the search. It turns out that CitySquares recognized "Raleigh, NC," but I was typing in just "Raleigh." For whatever reason, the search didn't recognize the city without the state.

Michael went to work on it, and by Friday I had an email in my inbox saying the fix was complete. I tried it out this morning and wow - what a fix!

Now, when I search for Raleigh, CitySquares smartly asks me which Raleigh I, in fact, am searching for:

Incidentally, this is a fantastic example of a brand listening to the conversation about them online. Not only did CitySquares engage in the conversation, they made a change to their product that benefits everyone.

If you want to know how to be as good as CitySquares at online reputation management, check out these posts:

How to Bury Negative Online Mentions of You - Intermediate Level Tactics Pssst. People are Talking... About Your Business! SEO for Brand Reputation Management Big Brands Wage Reputation Battles on Many Fronts 61% of Reluctant Consumers Can Be Positively Swayed Online Online Reviews Second Only to Word of Mouth in Purchase Decisions Google's Mobile Ratings Increase Need for Online Reputation Management Need To Track Your Brand Online? Try Search Monitor

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

November 4, 2008

SEW Experts: Maintaining Your Company's Image in the SERPs

Is your company the victim of bad press, or a concerted campaign to push your site down in the SERPs? In today's enterprise search marketing column, "Maintaining Your Company's Image in the SERPs," Aaron Shear explains that building alternative media types, and linking to compelling content about your company on other sites, can often clear up the majority of the unwanted press by moving it down through the rankings.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 16, 2008

SEW Experts: Obama is Winning the Internet War

Election Day in the U.S. is fast approaching and it's anyone's guess who will win...or is it? Based on five key indicators on the Internet, maybe we already know who will next be sitting in the Oval Office. In today's building brand equity column, "Obama is Winning the Internet War," Erik Qualman looks at these indicators and shows how they can be applied to your business.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 10, 2008

SEW Experts: The Big Picture -- Well-Rounded SEM for SMBs, Part 2

There are many different elements a small business can use to put together a well rounded online marketing campaign. When it comes to marketing your small business, the key is keeping your mind open to the possibilities -- you never know where the next big thing will be. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "The Big Picture -- Well-Rounded SEM for SMBs, Part 2," Carrie Hill looks at tactics for branding, reputation management, social networking, viral marketing, images, and videos.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 15, 2008

How to Bury Negative Online Mentions of You - Intermediate Level Tactics

Yesterday I published a post on the Search Engine People site titled 50+ Sites to Help You Bury Negative Posts About You or Your Company!.

While the tactics mentioned may be enough to push some negative online mentions of you or your business to the second page of the search results or lower, in other cases they will not. The question then becomes; what else can you do when the initial tactics themselves aren't enough, and you've got a negative piece about you ranking in the search results for an important phrase. Burying your head in the sand and hoping it goes away isn't really a viable option. The answer ... LOTS can be done!

Lets start with our goals ... they're progressive.

Progressive Goals: Goal #1: First ... bump the listing below the fold asap then Goal #2: Bump the listing off the first page of the search results for the given term(s)

With goals in hand, we can now consider tactics.

Tactics: To Achieve Goal #1:

a. select the strongest 3-5 of those 50+ sites, where strong is a subjective assessment based on many factors. My personal assessment would be:

1. Digg 2. Twitter 3. Stumbleupon 4. MyBlogLog 5. Linkedin

b. establish a profile on each, where the profile name is the term/phrase the negative piece ranks for c. get lots of friends on each of those sites ... the more the better. It works best if you take an active role and participate. Each friend will result in an internal link back to your profile on that site, making it stronger. d. within each site, you can see which profiles are the strongest in the offending engines' eyes ... the search engines themselves with rank them in order of importance given a simple search query (eg. site:twitter.com). Try to secure links from the strongest profiles first ... they pass the most value. e. join groups where possible too ... often these will pass link power to your profile as well. f. possibly create a social profiles menu on your site(s), and link to each of these profiles.

To Achieve Goal #2:

a. determine how far down you actually wish to push the piece. Beyond the first page will take a great deal of time and energy. b. assuming you've already bumped the offending post below the fold, you need to select the number of sites you will need to use from the 50 + listed in the 50+ Sites to Help You Bury Negative Posts About You or Your Company! article. c. follow the steps outlined above for each d. within each (where possible) include links to all your other profiles on the other sites

Following these steps should be enough to push most negative mentions to the second page. If not, or if you don't have the time and energy, do engage the services of a professional with experience in the space. Aside from the obvious value ... its not a bad idea to take out profiles under your name anyway, just as a pre-emptive measure.

Please note ... these tactics are by no means comprehensive or advanced. They're just a relatively quick and efficient means for burying negative online mentions. Much more advanced tactics exist, which I will not delve into here.

Other great reference posts about reputation management include: Glen Allsopp - What Is Online Reputation Management Andy Beal - Free Online Reputation Management Beginner's Guide Todd Malicoat - Reputation Management Emancipation PRoclamation - 10 Ways to Own Yourself Online Lee Odden - Basics of Online Reputation Management Marty Weintraub - 9 Essential Tactics for Reputation Management in Social Media Andy Beal - Buzz Monitoring: 26 Free Buzz Tracking Tools David Wallace - Using Social Media to Help Manage Online Reputation

Posted by at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

March 30, 2008

Constructive feedback on online reputation management

Three weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled, “Online Reputation Management Requires Cabinet War Rooms,” that reported on the Brand & Reputation Management session at last month's Search Engine Strategies conference in London.

Last week, I got some feedback from Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross, the chief reputation strategist at Weber Shandwick and author of Corporate Reputation: 12 Steps to Safeguarding and Recovering Reputation.

She said: “Thanks for the roundup regarding the panel discussion. I would add that companies probably do not need 'War Rooms' today and instead incorporate reputation monitoring as a regular course of business. Not just when in the throes of crisis. In addition, reputation recovery does not end in six months or when the negative comments leave the first page of Google. From the work we have done at Weber Shandwick on reputation, it takes nearly four years to recover reputation once it has been tarnished. Reputation recovery and management (online and offline) are never-ending. Thanks again for your thought-provoking comments.”

Now, I agree that companies should incorporate reputation monitoring as a regular course of business. But, they often don't – until they are in the throes of crisis.

And, I agree that reputation recovery shouldn't end when the negative comments leave the first page of Google. But, that's often the first sign that a crisis has passed.

So, how do you convince your CEO to include offline and online reputation management as a line item in the marketing budget before it's too late? And, if it takes nearly four years to repair a bad reputation, then how can you earn credibility for yourself and your SEO or PR firm by showing early signs of progress?

As I conducted a few news searches to find some recent information for this post, I was impressed to discover an optimized press release entitled, “Global CEO Turnover Rises 10 Percent in Past 12 Months According to New Weber Shandwick Study.”

“Given stagnant markets, fierce competition and a complex business environment, it is not surprising that CEO turnover has risen sharply,” said Weber Shandwick's Chief Reputation Strategist Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross in the release.

Wow. Talk about writing a press release that will get found by your target audience for relevant news search terms. And just what should CEOs do to hang on to their jobs?

“In today's uncertain economic environment when information and news are at a premium, CEOs would be wise to actively over communicate and regularly meet employees and customers face-to-face,” said Weber Shandwick President Andy Polansky in the release.

Okay. So, I know several SEO firms that "get" online reputation management, But, here's a PR firm that has gone beyond spouting empty platitudes about the topic and has conducted an ongoing analysis of “CEO Departures” to put “leadership communications” on the agenda.

But wait! There's more!

I conducted another news search and found an interactive case study in BusinessWeek entitled, “The Analysis: Restoring Reputation.” Written by Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross, it tells the story of how Xerox's reputation has enjoyed a successful turnaround since 2001, with CEO Anne Mulcahy pulling the strings.

Okay. Now, I'm really impressed. Leslie provided constructive feedback on my article about online reputation management. She was quoted in a press release that should catch the attention of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies. And she's written a case study about how Xerox's CEO has turned around that company's reputation – for BusinessWeek.

Online reputation management shouldn't require a crisis to become a line item in the budget. And it can enhance your corporate reputation as well as help you recover from a tarnished one, which can help your SEO or PR firm earn credibility with the CEO.

And, don't just take my word for it. If you need a second opinion, check out what they're doing over at Weber Shandwick.

Posted by Greg Jarboe at 1:03 PM | Permalink

March 14, 2008

SEW Experts: Defining Yourself Through Search

Your online persona is defined by what shows up in the search results. What do the SERPs say about you? In today's SEM Agency Issues column, "Defining Yourself Through Search," William Flaiz shows that personal reputation management is just as important to a business professional as corporate reputation management.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

March 11, 2008

Online Reputation Management Crisis? Preparation Is the Key

In many cases, a reputation management campaign can take months to complete. Addressing underlying issues and replacing negative content with more favorable pages takes time. But by being prepared ahead of time for a reputation management crisis, you can cut down that time considerably, and get more immediate results. In today's SearchDay, "Online Reputation Management Requires Cabinet War Rooms," Greg Jarboe shows how intense preparation helped Winston Churchill win the war, and it can help you deal with a sudden reputation management crisis.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 1:24 AM | Permalink

March 6, 2008

Trackur Offers Easy Online Reputation Management

Last week, Andy Beal released an online reputation management tool called Trackur. It was created for “individuals and companies concerned that they may be the subject of an online conversation, but don't have the time or knowledge needed to set up their own online monitoring tools."

It's also aimed at PR firms that want to add online reputation monitoring to their existing "clipping" services.” Users can be up and running with Trackur in just 5 minutes, which Beal says "removes the hassle out of maintaining dozens of manual reputation searches.”

At first glance, Trackur appears to be a simple RSS aggregator of social media search queries. Indeed, a social media-savvy individual could likely replicate what Trackur does with a bit of time and effort. But not every business has the knowledge, or the desire, to know what they should be tracking. Trackur makes good business sense for those types of users, Beal says.

“We take the hard work out of monitoring social media. We monitor news, blog posts, images, videos – even Twitter! Users can set up multiple searches, use sophisticated filtering to remove items that are not relevant to them, bookmark items, share items, sort items, then subscribe by email or RSS – or just use our beautiful AJAX interface,” Beal says.

All of this sophistication comes at a price. Trackur offers plans from $88-$388 a month, or less than the cost of a venti latte at Starbucks a day. But for small businesses, Trackur is essentially reputation insurance. “A smear against the reputation of a small business can be more detrimental than one against a Fortune 500 firm. Small businesses live and die by referrals and word of mouth. Just a single blog post can hurt the business of a restaurant, attorney, or flower shop,“ says Beal.

Technology alone cannot manage a reputation, so a Google support group and consulting services are in place for those who need help acting on their results. Trackur offers a 14 day free trial of its Standard version so users can experiment with the tool before shelling out the monthly fee.

In the coming weeks, Beal says to expect new features such as trending reports to be rolled out with the tool.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:11 AM | Permalink

January 29, 2008

SEO for Reputation Management

Even after many years of clean business practices, a single negative event can stain your brand image in the public eye for a long time. Simple things like a negative product review in a blog can be detrimental to your brand, especially when competitors are standing close by to snatch up customers. In today's SearchDay, "Using SEO for Reputation Management," Apogee Search's William Leake shares some best practices for creating a reputation management strategy built on search engine optimization.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:47 PM | Permalink

December 5, 2007

SEW Experts: SEM Brand Reputation Management

The cold harsh reality for those who have ever purchased traditional media is: it happens. How fast can you pull your ads? In today's Searching for Meaning column, "SEM Brand Reputation Management," Kevin Ryan discusses the Aqua Dots disaster, and methods of damage control.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

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