The answer is simple: nobody wants to lose money.
It seems like thousands of years ago when companies and banks requested paper-printed and signed letters to check someone’s references. Now, search engines allow us to do it ourselves even before meeting someone - just with a name and a couple of clicks, we can judge whether or not to trust in somebody.
Online Reputation is not only affecting whether a candidate should be chosen for a position or whether a person should be eligible for opening a bank account. A bad Online Reputation affects business operations, relationships, and even health. Therefore it affects money.
Although you might think that a reputation is not a tangible asset, it is possible to measure how your name has been affected and make a projection for the future.
A simple assessment you can conduct if you are an e-commerce, for example, is measuring your website traffic after a reputational crisis and checking how it reduced the inflow of money. If you are a person, you can think about how many businesses you haven’t closed since a high-ranking defamatory article got released online.
Nowadays many people and companies are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars for not knowing how to interpret their online data and face their Online Reputation Management properly.
There is not a simple answer for this question as each case should be treated differently and each case would come up with a different type of assessment. Anyhow, to have an idea of how our online reputation is affecting us, we have to think about our customers. We should consider how they view us and what they want from us on the Internet.
A good way to start is by searching your company’s name on Google. Would you want to be your own customer or will you reach out to another company instead? What are there views saying about your company? Are they good or bad?
Then try with your name. Think of your friends, family, or even your partner: How would they feel after encountering these search results? Now think of business stakeholders and employees: are you comfortable with what is ranking with your name?
Last but not by any mean least, check your competitors' names on Google. Do they look better than you? Have their negative news vanished in the air? If you didn’t like your answers to the questions above, you should consider an Online Reputation Management service.
Read more about how to create a Master plan to help build your company brand.
Improving ones online reputation is no easy work. So you have to make sure you choose your Online Reputation Management doctor wisely. When meeting with an agency or Online Reputation Management expert, check how they personally rank on search results. Try using the incognito mode to do it, so your installed cookies don’t influence your results.
It would be best to read and understand the basics of SEO before going to an interview with them so you can ask them about how they handle reputational crisis, and what techniques they use for ranking positive content on Google. If they mention any black hat techniques, you should look for a different company.
Read more about why Ethics is key to reputation management.
At lecocqassociate, we understand the importance of your success on this matter and the concerns you might have regarding your peace of mind. Our Online Reputation Management Services are available in UAE, USA, Canada, South America, Malta, Switzerland, and the rest of Europe.