November, 2007

16 Nov

Reputation Management

By Reputation Management

Reputation management is the process of tracking an entity’s actions and other entities’ opinions about those actions; reporting on those actions and opinions; and reacting to that report creating a feedback loop. All entities involved are generally people, but that need not always be the case. Other examples of entities include animals, businesses, or even locations or materials. The tracking and reporting may range from word-of-mouth to statistical analysis of thousands of data points.

Reputation management has come into wide use with the advent of widespread computing. This is evidenced by a recent front page story in the Washington Post featuring several online reputation management firms. Reputation management systems use various predefined criteria for processing complex data to report reputation. However, these systems only facilitate and automate some aspects the process of determining trustworthiness. This process is central to all kinds of human interaction, including interpersonal relationships, international diplomacy, stock markets, and sports.

The classic example of reputation management is the small town. Population is small and interactions between members frequent; most interactions are face-to-face and positively identified — that is, there is no question who said or did what. Reputation accrues not only throughout one’s lifetime, but is passed down to one’s offspring; one’s individual reputation depends both on one’s own actions and one’s inherited reputation.

There are generally few formal mechanisms to manage this implicit reputation.Implicit Reputation is the accumulated reputation one gets in a small town from previous actions. The town diner and barber shop serve as forums for exchange of gossip, in which community members’ reputations are discussed (implicit reputation), often in frank terms. Outstanding members may receive small, symbolic awards or titles, but these are mere confirmations of general knowledge.

11 Nov

The Developing Field of Internet Reputation Management

By Reputation Management

Author: James Peggie

Estimates show that around 90% of consumers use search engines to find websites. When they undertake a search for your company name or brand, your hope is that your own website is high up on the list. However, you do not have control over what people write about your company or brand on other websites and in forums, blogs, and articles. The search engine results page is the digital front page for your company. Be aware that the good and the bad search engine listings are visible to your potential clients and affect reputation and buying decisions. This has a powerful influence on your company and brand reputation.

What can you do if negative information relating to your company appears in the search results? You may want to consider Search Engine Reputation Management.

Search engine reputation management combines reputation management with search engine optimization. Think of it as a mix of PR with technical skills. High rankings of the good publicity is the goal, which will in turn push bad publicity down the list and out of consumers view. Consumers rarely view more than two pages of search engine results for any search.

Companies produce a large amount of compelling written content such as press releases, articles, testimonials, case studies, white papers, etc. Often, this information is not published on a companys website nor optimized in a search friendly way. Therefore it is not indexed or listed by the search engines.

The goal of search engine reputation management is high rankings and indexing in the search engines for all corporate communications and press releases. The result is an increase in your overall web presence which will knock negative listings from the top spots of the search engine rankings.

You work hard to build a reputation for yourself and for your clients. Search engine reputation management enables you to protect and manage these reputations by being actively involved in the results of search engines.

David Daniels
E-Mail: admin@reputationprofessor.com

Search Engine Reputation Management

Online Reputation Management