Group items tagged

Mistake 2: Slowly Responding

Mistake 3: Attacking or Defensively Responding

Mistake 4: Countering Negative Reviews with Fake Positive Reviews

Mistake 5: Taking Legal Action

All of this has resulted in a degradation of consumer trust.

Improve Search Traffic and Ranking with Dynamic Content

Volume also plays a critical role in Google's algorithms, so a steady stream of fresh content about a brand will be rewarded with higher search results.

Embrace Negative Feedback

Brands should have full transparency about any incentives offered in exchange for someone to leave feedback in a public forum.

But remember, fraud prevention is more than watching for fake reviews; it's also means pledging to leave all content untouched -- both the good and the bad.

Being transparent is risky. But in the long run, not being transparent is riskier.

What if your product/service sparks too much criticism? What if your employees are not social media savvy? What if your competitors take advantage of this? These are some of the reasons one needs to have a proper online reputation management plan in action before embarking on a “transparency journey.”

In the online reputation management scenario, there are two types of negative content that companies should be aware of. One is represented by complaints on social networks. They need to be addressed properly, but unless your company has serious problems, they do not pose a real challenge to your business.

1. Become well respected

2. Be radically transparent

3. Monitor what they are saying about you

4. React quickly and politely

5. Address criticism

6. Treat your Google page 1 as your business card

7. Understand your detractors

8. Attack your illegitimate attackers

9. Learn from your mistakes

10. Ask for help if necessary

Dan Virgillito is a content strategist for Massive PR, providing online reputation management services (i.e., helping companies monitor, defend, and restore their brand reputation on the internet).