Online Reputation Management with SEO - Online Reputation Management Checklist
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Identification of Keywords/Keyword phrases
Often a company will check just their company name, brand name, product name and individual names. These are of course important, as they refer specifically to a company. However, you should also check other potential relevant keywords. It may not be just your company name that reveals a top 10 negative listing but also one of your main keyword phrases.
Tip: Having checked the main reputation keywords such as company name, brand etc., look at the title tag of the negative page(s) to see if they contain other search terms that are relevant for your site and check if they are also found in the top 10 of Google. Don’t think automatically that it’s just your company/brand/product/individual keywords that are affected.
First Contact with Domain Owner
It seems obvious, but in the heat of a panic you may well forget to simply ask the owner of the site with the negative comment (particularly if it’s a blog/forum comment) to remove it. That does not mean in the first instance you should start with threatening language such as cease and desist letters etc. Website owners often don’t even know that user-generated content on their website includes any negative comments.
Use a bit of psychology; tell them that you are impressed with their site, tell them how surprised you were that such unfounded false and unjustified comments were allowed on the site. Ask them if they would kindly remove the post/comment as it is not based on truth or fact and is damaging to your good reputation… if you have evidence, be sure to provide it.
Do not go in all gung-ho with threats of any kind. Be nice!
Second contact with Domain Owner
If the owner does not respond or refuses to remove the negative comment/post, then express your disappointment and mention that due to the PR damage the post is causing, you will be contacting your lawyer for advice, as you feel it is defamation/libel and request again to have it removed within a time scale of, say, five days. Still do not use aggressive or threatening language at this stage.
Third Contact with Domain Owner
If you still get no response, seek legal advice. It may well be against the law (defamation/slander) and not just a case of free speech, especially if the owner of the site is in any way a competitor or in your field. Sometimes a letter or phone call from a lawyer will sort things out quickly. Many are reluctant to do this, as they fear the costs and time involved of bringing in a lawyer. However, the costs of pushing a negative comment/post on to a second page of Google are usually very much higher than the hiring of a good Internet lawyer.
Do not (as two competitors have disastrously done in the past) make your first step a letter or call from a lawyer, or in one case, send without any prior warning or contact, a legal cease-and-desist letter. This can backfire disastrously should it be known in the community that legal pressure is being applied to “stifle free speech” and end up blogged and posted everywhere.
Next: What if Removing the Post is Not an Option? >>
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