What is the first thing people do when they hear about your brand?
You do not have to be overly intelligent to know that there are going to Google your name. Your brand name, website, and other mentions are likely to occupy the first-page search results.
However, what happens if two or three of those results portray your brand in a negative light?
With brands taking to digital platforms with seriousness, one negative comment or rant is all it takes to blow away customer confidence. This is why online reputation management is emerging as one of the key digital strategies for businesses.
For a very long time, businesses have depended on online reputation management tools for negative content suppression. This has helped them identify and take action.
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The question that many ask is can SEO help with online reputation management as well?
The Role of SEO in Online Reputation Management
In the past few years, SEOs and agencies have been toying with the idea of using SEO for bettering online reputation. According to experts, the following are some of the major reasons for using SEO in online reputation management-
1 Ranking Higher for Positive Branded Content-
We have already mentioned that individuals are likely to look at the first and second search page rankings and not beyond that. If the negative links and comments occupy the first or second pages for your brand search, you are in trouble. SEO helps a brand rank higher for positive search results and pushes the negative pages to the lower pages.
2 Relationship with Industry Authority Figures-
A key function of SEO is establishing relationships with influential bloggers by submitting and publishing branded content. This can be in the form of an elaborate guide or tutorial on a subject. When people see your brand’s content on the site of an authority, they are likely to think of your brand in positive terms. This helps counter all the negative propaganda.
3 Optimize Positive Brand Content on all Digital Platforms-
In 2021, SEO can no longer be viewed as something that acts in isolation on search engines. Digital platforms like social media and local SEO platforms like GMB can play a key role in pushing a brand’s positive story and countering the negative sentiments. Optimizing content on all digital touchpoints can be an effective way of enabling SEO for reputation management.
The above-mentioned three points are critical when it comes to the role of championing SEO to curb negative mentioned on search and social. Brands need to realize that they cannot simply email Google and ask them to remove the negative brand mentions.
List of Three Reasons why Online Reputation Management is Important for your Business
In this section, we shed some light on the important reasons why brands should take reputation management seriously.
- UGC Content Builds Better Brand Awareness-
More than what you say about your brand, consumers look for what others are saying about the brand. This is why UGC content plays such a key role in pushing a brand towards credibility. Many business executives think that one isolated comment cannot harm their million-dollar businesses. However, in reality, it can affect the company’s sales and revenues.
- Online Reputation has a Direct Impact on Offline Performance-
Most brands make the mistake of thinking that their offline sales and performance will not get affected by a negative mention of Quora. They are wrong. Changing user behavior means everyone researches about a brand on search and social before deciding to physically walk into a shop and buy a product or a service.
- Positive Online Reputation helps attract the Best Employees-
An employee that is looking to work in your organization is going to critically do his or her research about the business before joining it. Negative comments and statements about the business on digital platforms can stop the best talents from joining your organization. If you are a business that is looking to grow, you need to attract the best talents to your business.
The Bottom Line
In this article, we have looked at some key ways SEO can help in online reputation management. We also discussed why taking reputation management should be an important and serious vertical for your business. For reputation management, both search and social performance are essential. If you have any more questions that you would want us to discuss or explain in greater detail, let us know in the comments section below.