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The "BuyerZone Scam" Hoax: A Case Study in Online Reputation Management

smccormick by smccormick
Last updated: 02/14/2012

BuyerZone Rises Above Google Results Scam

Picture your company's logo. Now imagine it covered in graffiti. Hard to ignore, right? You'd probably scrub, bleach, do whatever it takes to get rid of that graffiti as soon as you possibly could.

The BuyerZone Scam is a case study in online reputation management. BuyerZone.com is a an online lead generation company. In a search for the brand "BuyerZone," one of Google's suggestions is "BuyerZone scam." Competitors of BuyerZone.com have posted content to the web in an effort to hurt the image of an online company -- a common tactic for businesses that compete for Internet customers. In fact, there are several companies experiencing the 'Scam' problem when their name is typed into Google. Sometimes, the word "scam" turns up because of reviews websites, where unhappy customers can share opinions about a company. No matter what the reason is for "scams" or another negative word showing up next to your name in Google results, the most important thing is resolving the issues with your customers -- while at the same time working on the search engine problem.

Unfortunately, negative web content that smears your brand is harder to deal with than graffiti. However, there are 3 basic steps to follow in resolving these issues -- the most important one being good customer service practices.
Office Space

3 Steps of Online Reputation Management

Mad MenThis is where online reputation management comes in. There are 3 basic steps to online reputation management, and you can use this lens to find the best resources and tools out there.

1. Monitor the web for negative material and unwanted search engine results. One of the easiest to use free tools out there is Google Alerts.

2. Confront the ROOT of the problem(s) by responding to the customer's complaint, or contacting the customer directly to resolve the issue. This is not only "the right thing to do" as a company, but it's a customer service best practice, and it shows your web audience that your company cares enough about its customers (current and former) to ameliorate an issue.

3. Create social media accounts for your brand in an effort to increase your web real estate in search engine results, and to create a more open forum for your customers. Allowing customers to voice their experience with your company will hopefully result in more positive web content.

4. Create positive content that will push the negative content down in the results. You might have to get creative...keep reading!

5. Linkbuild for positive and neutral content. "Neutral" might be a Wikipedia page, press releases, or job websites where open positions at your company are listed. I won't get into the details of linkbuilding in this lens.

How to monitor your name and your brand

This short Hubspot YouTube video shows a couple of tools available for monitoring your company's web presence.
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First, do your homework!

The best ORM advice I've found is below.

Begin your ORM quest by researching what authorities are saying about Online Reputation Management. Research is a great way to understand the problem, the forces at work, and get tips on strategies you can use to kill your pesky "scam" problem. These pages also have a wealth of free tools that you can use.
SEOMoz tackles the "Scam" problem
A comprehensive and thoughtful post with real world information on what to do when Google suggests that your company is a scam.
SEMPO Guide to Online Reputation Management
The basic introduction to why every small business needs to engage in online reputation management practices.
New York Times: Erasing the Digital Past
Ordinary people are turning to online reputation management companies - to bury things on the web they'd rather have others not see.
Distilled: Reputation Management Tactics that still work
"Scam," bad customer reviews, and more, this entry is hugely comprehensive on what to do in a Post-Panda world.
Mashable's guide to the top 10 monitoring tools
Mashable's guide to the top 10 PAID ORM tools out there.

Social media accounts - a great way to rank for your brand

Don't see your favorite? Add your #1 platform to this list!

Buyerzone scam social media accounts

Getting your brand's coverage on major social media platforms can be a great way to open up the floor for disgruntled customers. Rather than heading to reviews sites or forums to voice frustrations, your customers can easily go straight to your social accounts and connect with your customer service or marketing team. Additionally, social media sites rank extremely well in Google - and are a great way to rank for your brand name on page 1 (thus pushing down unwanted results). Quick and Dirty: Ways to use social media to get ahead in Google is a Slideshare presentation with a bunch of dirty tips.

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Twitter

Twitter is one of the best platforms for customer service issues. Best of all, when a disgruntled customer Tweets at your brand with a complaint - you immediately receive it, and it fades from Google results over time.1 point

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Facebook

Facebook is a great place to share original content created by your site, as well as awesome content that your employees read that might interest your customers or clients.0 points

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BuyerZone ScamBuster Blog

This is a clever way to rank for "Buyerzone scam". The BuyerZone ScamBuster blog helps BuyerZone users recognize B2B scams before they fall for them. It's also a haven for all the positive content that has been published about the company itself.0 points

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LinkedIn

For businesses, LinkedIn is a GREAT way to recruit new staff and network with past employees, current employees' networks, and even prospective clients or partners. BuyerZone has its own Careers page which posts up-to-date job openings.0 points

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YouTube

Now that Google inserts video into its results, try to get a video to rank for your brand name. It doesn't have to be a stellar production or go viral - just make it honest and a visual representation of your company. Be creative - even staff interviews could work, or film from company parties or events. Because links are the most important factor in video rankings (says Matt Cutts of Google), add links to the video wherever possible. Use the social media accounts above to add links within descr...0 points

Examples of positive content you can create

This content targets the NEGATIVE keyword in a POSITIVE spin. Get creative!

You have two options, both of which you should take advantage of. First, create positive or neutral content that attempts to rank for "[Your Company] + Scam]. You can spin this content - examples are below. Next, create or refresh positive content that ALREADY ranks for your brand name. You should linkbuild for these two types of content - make use of your social media accounts, other web properties, and guest post relationships.
Leverage Wikipedia to promote your great "scam" content
Wikipedia is one of THE best ways to rank for an unwanted keyword, and this is speaking from experience. I edited our Wikipedia page on a Friday, and by Monday we were ranking #4 for "BuyerZone scam". Visit the page to see how I integrated this phrase into the content.
Create free press releases announcing company news
Product launches, new partnerships, new deals, awards or distinctions, etc. - these are a few things you can be promoting on free PR sites like PRLog.
Is the "iPad for Business" a scam?
Publish content on the Wordpress blog that would be relevant to your blog's topic area.
BuyerZone: Phone Scams of 2010
BuyerZone editors wrote a guest post on this telecommunications site.
BuyerZone Investigates Copier Scams in the News
Another guest post written by BuyerZone staff, on an office equipment website.
BuyerZone Reviews page
Show off your great customer testimonials by building a reviews page for your brand name. Because you're hosting it on your site, the domain will be a strong factor in getting this page to rank for "Brand + Reviews".
Using Pictures to Solve Scam Problem
Hubpages is another content community which allows people to publish original material. I took a different spin on the Online Rep Management topic, and published this page.

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smccormick

The BuyerZone Scam is a case study in online reputation management. Here you can find the neatest tools out there for monitoring and maintaining your... more »

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