Responding to Negative Publicity Online - Persist, Don't Panic
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Okay, so you've gone through and done everything you can think of to fix the problem and blunt the impact of the negative publicity you've received. You're still seeing problems in the SERPs. What do you do?
Well, the first thing you should do is not panic. That means no lawsuits unless things have gotten so totally out of hand that breaking out the biggest guns is appropriate. Despite the frequency with which lawsuits are often filed in the US, and for apparently the flimsiest of reasons, it is rarely appropriate to sue. I'm not saying that you shouldn't sue if you believe you are legally in the right. Rather, you should remember what it is exactly that you are trying to accomplish.
Referring back to Bruce Clay, remember that "The goal is to bury the story, not draw more attention to it. While the post might be temporarily contained to one rogue blogger, bringing in the lawyers is a great way to make a mountain out of a mole hill on a national and even global level." That is the last thing you want.
The second thing you should do is be patient. Stories and rumors, especially ones that make others look bad, take time to die. The Proctor and Gamble satanic rumor, despite being repeatedly denied and disproved in detail (here is Snope's take on it), has been circulating for more than two decades.
You almost certainly won't have to wait two decades for a bad story about your company to stop circulating, especially if you are doing the other things I've suggested in this article and the previous one about your online reputation. In the meantime, keep monitoring your company and your brands in the SERPs to get a sense of the trends. This will help you to see if the situation is getting worse or dying a natural death.
The third thing you need to do is be persistent. Continue to monitor your reputation online, optimize your websites, and engage with social sites online. Continue to be active and a good member of the online community. With a game plan in place, and having survived a dose of negative publicity, you'll know how to handle it next time so that you experience a minimum of damage. Good luck!
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