Why should you care about reputation management?

1. To Avoid SEO Blackmail.

I had my first encounter with this about 8 years ago when the CEO and CFO of one of my clients asked for help in this matter. Frankly, this tactic is blackmail and near slander hiding under the protection of the 1st Amendment. The basic model is where a SEO person creates and uses a “review” site to post negative comments and reviews about a company.  Then calls the company requesting sponsorship the review site. If they did, the negative reviews “might likely” just go away. (Wink, wink). And almost like my client did, many are willing to play because their afraid that the site’s negative reviews will be found by prospective customers making decisions about using the company.

2. That Drunk Time You Can’t Remember. But Google Does.

Your friends and colleagues may post information about you that you many be unaware of.  Remember that party that where you drank from a beer bong in a Viking outfit? Well, your friend posted them on Facebook or their blog site. And because your name was tagged to them, a potential employer or client can find them in a search on your name.

3. The First Impression of the Search Result.

“Bob Smith|Facebook”
“Bob Smith sued for child support by Authorities”
“Bob Smith. A leader in the telecom space”

Which would you like to be the first result a person for you is looking for?

That’s why it’s important for individual or company to handle and respect reputation management almost they same way you review your credit score. If an error happens, it can affect your ability to successful do other things.