Anything online is pretty much fair game. Anyone can take potshots on anyone just for fun, and get it posted as the number one result. In fact, a couple of years ago, searching for “miserable failure” online resulted in the Wikipedia entry of the former President George W. Bush as the number one result. Good thing that Google was able to defuse that bomb. This just goes to show that in the hands of a malicious competitor, the efforts you’ve been making in spicing up your e-commerce site and ramping up your SEO online marketing will not be enough. You will also have to be vigilant against threats on your person or company through reputation management online.
As if that’s not enough challenge for the site owner, your product’s reputation management online is open to slander and libel–whether it’s from legit competitors or just internet savvy nerds who want to see reputations fall.
SEO experts have been known to use everything in their arsenal to beef up reputations of people online. Type the name “Simon Cowell” in Google and you get the sites with flattering or neutral content. Unsavory material is pushed down to the bottom of Google. In fact, ex-American Idol judge Simon Cowell has been known to retain a London-based SEO firm for reputation management. Political candidates are known to do the same.
It’s hard enough to try to get to the top of Google. But is someone trying to throw you a curveball when it comes to your online marketing efforts? If you happen to suffer from unfair attacks online, take a serious look at your online reputation management options.
First, you can choose to ignore the negative reviews. People will forget about it tomorrow, right? Let’s just hope that all the negativity will eventually blow over. Another option is to send a polite email or formal letter to the website owner to take down the offensive material. Third, you can bring the offending parties to court for slander. Get immediate relief with a court order to take down the site and seek compensatory damages. Lastly, you can consider a more creative online reputation management tactic that will push the offensive sites down 4-10 pages in the search engine results through reputation online repair services.
Clearly, the first option won’t get your anywhere and the second is a long shot. But it’s worth a try as it will cost you nothing to request the site owner to be more scrupulous and discerning in publishing defamation slander. You can always threaten costly litigation against them as part of your polite demand.
What about litigation? The third option is the traditional big business way to scare website owners into pulling down content that is slanderous. For some websites, you will be able to get your way. For others, they will call your bluff and you will have to drag your butt to court. There are not only time and litigation expenses but it will also continue to take its toll on your brand because the content will not be pulled down immediately. In fact, you may have to wait until the court decides in your favor so you might as well just go ahead and do search engine reputation management.
Nothing beats proactive and aggressive counter-action to neutralize malicious online slander. Brand protection is as much a basic marketing function as advertising and promotions, whether online or offline. Doing so online will often require the right SEO professionals to manage online reputation.
Fetch a Wag the Dog Marketing Los Angeles, CA accusation cleanup diagnosis right away at (800) 825-9500.