Why Your Online Reputation Matters
In today’s always-on digital environment, people often turn to search engines to learn about businesses in their area. In fact, as many as 94% of consumers research businesses before making purchasing decisions.
One factor that determines whether or not a customer will visit your location is your online reputation, or the set of attributes that tell others who you are, what you stand for, and how you can provide the goods and services others want. In simple terms, your online reputation is the consensus public perception of your company; in other words, your online reputation is your company’s online image.
If search results turn up positive information, such as great ratings on review sites, positive reviews, and positive news coverage, new customers are far more likely to choose your business over your competitors. If that coverage is negative, your company’s online presence can be damaged, potentially resulting in lost sales and an erosion of trust between you and consumers.
Factors that Can Harm Your Business's Reputation
Your brand reputation is dependent on what others say and think about your business online. A positive reputation is built on favorable sentiments from consumers — positive reviews and ratings — and is reflected in positive content in search results.
Negative information shared on social media, in the news, or on review sites can undo everything you have worked so hard to achieve. Factors that can harm your business’s online image include:
- Negative content in news articles
- Negative online reviews on Google or on third-party review platforms
- Unflattering images in search results
- Negative brand mentions on social media sites
What is Online Reputation Management?
In the digital world, online reputation management serves to increase brand awareness, influence customer purchasing decisions, and repair a poor online reputation. This strategy can be seen as an extension of digital marketing efforts, helping you to open new doors of opportunity.
To effectively manage your online reputation, a quality reputation management company will apply a set of processes to establish, build, or repair your company’s reputation. Reputation management strategies vary, but most include a multi-step process that includes:
- Analysis of your online presence.
- Creation of web properties, including social media profiles, websites, and blogs.
- Content creation and publishing, including content like social media posts, news articles, press releases, and blog articles.
- Content promotion.
- Online reputation monitoring.
Key Benefits Of Business Reputation Management
Our team delivers comprehensive, customized business reputation management to elevate your brand and bottom line. Our online reputation management services are designed to be customized to suit your business goals.
Key benefits of a professional business reputation strategy include:
- Improving Google visibility of positive assets like blogs, articles, and websites
- Identifying threats to your brand before they become major crises
- Enhancing article placements that boost online PR
- Creation of crisis management strategies that prevent panic and contain emergencies
- Fixing and maintaining accurate business listings across the web
- Attracting more qualified job candidates and improving employee productivity
- Decreased marketing costs and higher ROI
Corporate vs. Small Business Reputation Management
There are key differences between a corporate reputation management strategy and its small business counterpart.
For instance, small business reputation management focuses on items impacting local search pages, including local influencers, local reviews, and local SEO techniques. For a local business, online reputation management can boost visibility in local searches and help you appear on Google Maps.
On the other hand, corporate reputation management is typically much broader in scope, covering brand reach and impact regionally, nationally, and across the globe. Corporate solutions also tend to include the work of many regional experts addressing multiple local brands at once. Some of the largest corporations add crisis management to the roster of customized online reputation management services.
Additionally, corporate reputation management campaigns often include C-level executives as part of the overall strategy, mainly because corporate executives are now an influential piece of the larger brand puzzle.
Global Reach, Local Impact
Our growing online reputation team provides award-winning, results-driven business reputation management solutions to help expand your global footprint while maximizing brand impact in the local and regional markets you value most. As a leading provider of brand reputation management services, our company uses the latest reputation management software and tactics to help you stand out in a positive light across the web. From search results to social media conversations, your business reputation is the gateway to your continued success.
No matter where you are located or what you offer, we work with you to build the local, national and international online presence you need to reach more customers and grow your bottom line.
