How To Protect Your Assets by Optimizing Search

06/17/2008

By John McCarthy, WebMetro Director of SEO
As featured in the 2008 DMNews Essential Guide to Search Engine Marketing

Every day, businesses make headlines when their corporate reputation is tarnished due to a declined insurance claim or a lawsuit. While the story may last a few days on TV or in the papers, it lasts forever in the search engines. Corporate leaders are also fair game. Illicit affairs, divorce and stock options often taint a corporate brand. Negative stories damage branding, but also revenue and stock price. All corporate boards should demand an SEO reputation management campaign from their PR or corporate communications staff.

Brands today extend beyond corporations — people are brands. Think of Britney Spears and Roger Clemens. As we all know, politicians are not immune. How will former New York governor Eliot Spitzer fare in the search engines years from now? As with businesses, an individual’s online reputation must be protected.

Here is a real-world example from a business we’ll call Company A. Company A has delivered on its service promises for 10 years. A year ago, a claim emerged in the search engine results suggesting Company A has unreliable service. A person sent an unflattering letter to a Web site and it was published. The claim cannot be substantiated as Company A was never contacted about the alleged problem. I say alleged because the posted letter doesn’t contain any information from which Company A can validate the claim. Although Company A has contacted the Web site, the Web site will not provide information about the claim and will not remove the letter from its site. Worse yet, if a person searches Google for Company A’s name, the Web site with the alleged claim often appears in the top five positions. This blemishes the company brand and leads to lost revenue.

No one can predict when bad press will strike, so it’s a best practice to start your SEO campaign now. When something happens, this will help ensure that permanent online damage is minimized. Here is a three-step process to help you get started: First, determine your keywords — think company, product and staff names. Next, create a SEO strategy — your goal should be to obtain all top 10 rankings. Finally, develop a small paid search campaign — occupying all the source points.

It’s best to start an investment in SEO reputation management campaign before problems occur so your business is in a better position to mitigate the problem. Your stockholders and those with a financial interest will appreciate your attention to protecting your assets.

For more insight visit Search Engine Optimization Services