Harmen Mander | Online Reputation Management: An Overview

 Harmen Mander | Most consumers investigate a company by searching for it on Google or Yahoo. If the company hasn’t experienced negative press, all is well. But if it has, even a few postings that question its credibility can damage its sales. Now more than ever, how a business appears online determines how the majority of consumers perceive it. Consequently, campaigns to save a company’s reputation now extend to the Internet. For many companies, the management of their online reputation has gone from being an occasional duty to a full-time job.

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Two Types of Management | Harmen Mander

Online reputation management(ORM) is best known for its role in damage control. When events such as product recalls or service failures cause negative press, the news is broadcasted through print, radio, and TV channels for a limited time. Unless the event is tragic or far-reaching, news of its occurrence usually passes within a week, except on the Internet. Even months after the event occurred, search queries can bring old articles and press releases to the top of search results. And bloggers who still have a bone to pick can continue their onslaught.

In these situations, businesses turn to a search engine marketing (SEM) firm that specializes in ORM. Although negative posts may be impossible to remove, they can be pushed down in search results by neutral and positive content that ranks high in search results. In addition to making negative content hard to find, this content can be used to restore reputation, which is the second aspect of ORM.

Continuous Management | Harmen Mander

For many companies, ORM is a continuous process. It mitigates the effects of negative press, and then builds a positive image after the storm passes. Just as search engine optimization (SEO) uses press releases, articles, and blogs to increase a company’s web presence financially, ORM uses a similar approach to increase its web presence socially. The mutual interest of the disciplines makes it wise to practice them in tandem – an arrangement that top SEM firms can accommodate.

Just as negative press could impact the financial accomplishment that a company achieves through SEO, poor financial performance could impact the social accomplishment it achieves through ORM. Though they are separate disciplines, SEO and ORM can act synergistically for a company’s financial benefit.

Conclusion | Harmen Mander

Reputation managementis an old concept, but its presence in the online community is only beginning. Internet reputation management is technically sophisticated. In addition to implementing traditional intervention strategies, firms that perform it execute search engine strategies and implement a variety of high tech management tools that empower the client.