Reviews, Forums, Social Media… They all play a part in what is found on the Internet. So who is saying what about you and your business?

The Importance of Your Online Reputation

With the increased use of the internet, "Word of mouth" has taken on a whole new meaning.  A bad reputation can have an extremely damaging effect on a business.  When "Word of Mouth" was just that, people talking in small groups here and there, that damage was very limited and not very fast.   Today, word of mouth includes videos, chats, 140 character statements, review websites, blogs, and so much more. If effective, a bad reputation can become a highly effective and very detrimental campaign spreading worldwide in minutes.

Consumers can now share their grievances online, and many people will add their issues if they feel they have a story to tell in order to pass that story along to others. If your name begins to appear on review sites like them, these pages may start to appear high in the search results pages. The end result is that if a potential customer searches using your business name or personal name then they could be seeing negative reviews and not your marketing message.

Discover Your Online Reputation

It is sensible to first discover whether there are any negative results already in place that you need to counteract. Start by Googling your name or the name of your company. Any aliases, trading names and abbreviations that you also used should be searched. Also, search for your names using quotation marks and without them to get a broader but more accurate picture.

Monitor Your Online Reputation

It is important to remember that the situation can change overnight. Set up Google/Yahoo Alerts so that you receive an email whenever your name or the name of your company is mentioned in blogs, article directories, and other websites. You can also create RSS feeds with sites like Technorati and other major news sites too. Monitor your own websites, blogs, and forums because these are likely to be the first place that most people will look to post their concerns.

Click here to see our entire internet marketing resource library.

CLICK TO READ PART II on reputation management and learn how to overcome bad reviews online.