Last Updated on February 15, 2021 by Bright Past
Much like an individual, a business must manage its reputation. The desired outcome is positive return on search engine result pages (SERPs). In order to control its own listings, the business must drive down or eliminate negative results. The following six advanced methods can help.
Use Social Media the Right Way
A common strategy in reputation management optimization is creating as many social profiles as possible and directing links to them in the hope that some will come out on top in the rankings. In reality, this dilutes the effect. A better approach is to utilize a small number of profiles on powerful platforms. The following recommended sites will bring the best results:
• Flickr
• YouTube
Another mistake businesses make is simply registering profiles to get the name and expecting it to magically get ranked. Social profiles require regular participation with comments, photos and making a large number of friends. This is far more valuable for ranking than trying to obtain links. If the business is active on a niche social site, this can build a bigger ranking than the big silos. Being present and active is the key to success.
These additional suggestions for social profiles will help with ranking:
• Use the correct name. Use a real first and last name, or the business’s brand name, instead of a pseudonym. This should be a single word or a hyphenated phrase.
• Complete each profile. Fill out the bio, upload photos, add links, tags and topics. Do not leave anything blank.
• Use an address book. Find contacts on social media and follow them. Engage with them regularly to become known for openness and trust.
• Pursue new connections. Find the social profiles that are linked to the most often and try to bring the business to their attention.
• Stay relevant. If the profile looks spammy or stuffed with keywords, there is a possibility it will get banned. This will block participation and the ability to connect with other brands and people.
While it takes effort, investing in social profiles will bring excellent rankings.
Create a Universal Bio
A company that is often mentioned in the media, on the web or at industry gatherings can benefit from a universal bio. Typically, this is a short paragraph that creatively pulls all of the business’s pages and social media together in one place using anchor text and links. This strategy is effective for companies and can also work well for an individual because bios will turn up in every corner of life. When bios are used for events, the business should ensure the links are being used along with the information for proper attribution.
Donate, Hire, Invest and Speak
Donating to a great cause is an excellent way to get a company name in the spotlight. It will project a feeling of empathy along with generosity. When hiring, try to maintain a permanent profile or include the company’s bio in the advertisement. Investing in other businesses will help the company gain recognition from mentions in press releases, news articles and popular web pages.
Do Not Use Wikipedia or Other Free Sites
Many individuals and businesses use Wikipedia for reputation management because it is considered to be a powerful tool. The drawback to this is lack of ownership for the listing. The main objective of managing a reputation is controlling what is said about the business or brand. Wikipedia and other sites that allow anyone to edit, add references, engage in negative commentary or allow comments defeat this purpose. Wikipedia profiles often rank quickly, and if there is anything negative on the page, it can be difficult to get it removed. Before investing too much time and effort building links, the business should be aware of how the site operates or how much control it will have over its profiles and content. Sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn allow full control, unless the person or business is engaging in rule-breaking behavior. In that case, the page will simply be taken down before the negativity can have an effect on ranking.
Create a Second Blog
Blogs are powerful tools for search engine results because they attract a large number of references and external links. This is why it is recommended that an individual register a first and last name domain, and businesses use a brand name whenever possible. Another clever strategy is creating a second blog with a similar name, such as brandnamerocks.com This requires extra work for setting it up and writing posts to build interest, but it is worth it to bring in extra references that will tie it back to the business. This method works even faster when the links are shared on social media, and the business’s current network is linked on the blogroll. Contacts, family and friends will link to the new site, boosting its signal even more.
Leverage Questionable Links
While it is generally not a good idea to buy low-quality links, sometimes it is necessary. In addition, if a business owns or controls links of questionable quality, they should not be pointed to new websites but directed to social media profiles that already have a high ranking. This way, the search engines will decide how important they are and whether to include them in results. This is especially effective for nofollow links from blog comments, social media or various wikis around the web. These links can be leveraged to work hard for a ranking boost. The business should first test the links on other social media profiles to see how they rank before redirecting them to its own pages. Aggressive SEO can sometimes result in a penalty or the profile being removed by the website. It is best to proceed with caution and not waste days or weeks of work.
When it comes to online reputation management, BrightPast has the extensive experience and the right tools to bring positive results.