by 8 people |
What Do You See When You Google Your Name?
If you have bad publicity showing up in the top results of major search engines for your personal name or business name, you have a problem that needs to be fixed ASAP!
Your Internet Reputation is Important
Reputation management is becoming an important aspect of our lives. Whether you're selling products or services on or off the Internet, are looking for a job, have applied to a school, or made a new business or personal acquaintance, your Web reputation can mean the difference between success and failure.
Clear Negative Publicity
Move it off the first page of search engine results.
If negative publicity is right at the top of the first page of search results, there are ways you can salvage your Internet reputation.
The following strategies can help make negative results move down and off first pages of search engine results, including Google, Yahoo, and MSN. However, you can't make negative results disappear from the search engines entirely.
The following strategies can help make negative results move down and off first pages of search engine results, including Google, Yahoo, and MSN. However, you can't make negative results disappear from the search engines entirely.
Enhance Google Rankings
Use networking to remove the bad and add the good.
The first thing you should do is write to the sites that have negative publicity, and politely ask them to remove it. If they comply, it will take some time for the indexed pages to be removed from search results, but the links won't take visitors to the negative web pages.
Send a note of appreciation to sites that already have something good to say about you.
Send a note of appreciation to sites that already have something good to say about you.
Write Articles
They will show up in Google and other searches and move bad publicity down.
Using your company name in articles gives it a chance of ranking well in search engine results and moving negative search results lower. Add a back link to your site.
Social Bookmarking Sites & Squidoo
Use them to help move positive information into high ranking positions.
Use social bookmark sites like Netvouz and Del.icio.us to add content through the web. Use your company name in the titles and descriptions of bookmarks and photos. Write a Squidoo lens about your business, making your business name a text link to your site.
New Web Sites
Patience! It will take up to 6 months to get past the Google sandbox effect.
Buy domain names, preferably with your name, corporation or brand included in the URL, and build new web sites. These sites, if well optimized, will help push down negative search engine results. For best results you may need the help of an SEO company.
Track Search Engine Results
Know when good or bad publicity makes the news.
Use Google Alerts to be notified daily when new references to your company or name have been found in Google. How Long Will it Take?
Removal of negative publicity won't happen overnight.
Reputation management is a long term activity - take advantage of all the options you have to keep search engine results positive.
You will get out of your reputation management efforts what you put in. It could take anywhere from a few months to a year. However, it will be well worth the effort you put into it - good luck!
You will get out of your reputation management efforts what you put in. It could take anywhere from a few months to a year. However, it will be well worth the effort you put into it - good luck!
New Amazon Standard
The Reputation Vortex: Online Reputation Management (Spiro Business Guides)
Amazon Price: (as of 01/08/2010) 
