Internet Marketing Blog

Last week Google officially launched Knol. The story behind Knol is explained here:

“Knol is a free service from Google that allows you to communicate, collaborate, and share your knowledge with the world. We believe that Knol increases the availability of information, encourages freedom of expression, and makes possible new connections between authors and readers.”

I’ve written some Knols in the past few days and found a strong online reputation benefit inherent in this service. Think about how social networks have changed how we do business online. Social media and social networks have had an undeniable impact on online business. These social networks have changed the way almost everyone communicates online, and this can have a serious bottom line impact on your business. It’s not overly pessimistic to say that negative online reputation spread through social media networks can destroy your business. The ownership of social communications channels and the entire balance of power have shifted. Suddenly, your company is not in complete control of your online message anymore.
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In a word, Yes. Steve Rubel pointed out that “Blogging creates communities around complaints”. That’s a sobering thought for all companies now - whether they are doing business online or not. Customers have a voice and are using it in many instances simply to hurt people or businesses they’ve had a bad experience with. Search engine reputation management can no longer be an afterthought. Exploring this issue further, Ann Smarty over at SEOSmarty.com posted a list of major services that encourage spreading negative reputation online. It’s a complex problem on many levels that you will likely face sooner than later.

The danger for businesses is great. These sites allow anyone to post complaints of any type. If this happens to your company, it can destroy your business. A good way to diffuse the complaints is to join in these discussions and give your side of the story, explaining how you are addressing the situation. But with the proliferation of blogs, it’s become more and more difficult for a company to monitor every mention of their web site online.

Clearly, it’s best to be proactive about your negative online reputation potential. Check out the above list, consider the impact sites like these can have on your business, and give us a call. We can help.

Search Engine reputation management is a core need of many businesses today - likely including yours.

Technology has fundamentally changed the way companies like yours interact with customers. Like it or not, your company will be Googled by potential customers. Any negative reports that are easily found can destroy your business. The threat is real. Check out this article entitled It only takes a click to damage your company’s reputation.

The wealth of information and resources your web site visitors now have doesn’t necessarily lead to better customer satisfaction online. The schadenfreude of [social network users] drawing satisfaction from another’s misfortune is part of the popular culture that enjoys the downfall of companies or celebrities, according to Jim Carroll, a Canadian-based trends and innovation expert.

Your best cure is prevention, since the speed of new social network technologies can quickly proliferate negative websites before you ever realized that an irrate customer had an ax to grind with your company and was taking great delight in tearing your company down. Companies have been destroyed by these vicious attacks on their online reputation. Get started monitoring your search engine reputation now.