1022 – Game of Brands: Winning the Reputation War Online

Your online reputation can significantly influence whether people decide to buy from you. And SEO can do something about it.

James chats with Gert Mellak of SEOLeverage.com on boosting and maintaining one’s reputation in today’s digital landscape.

They discuss the ways SEO can impact your online reputation.

Gert clarifies how much of our online reputation is within our control.

And he and James talk about AI in the context of reputation management.

Table of contents

1. SEO as reputation management

2. A number of brand management categories

3. Why everyone should Google themselves

4. An example from the field

5. When the negative reviews are deserved

6. When affiliates are involved

7. How much can you actually control?

8. The importance of monitoring your brand

9. Some takeaways for the average marketer

10. Where does AI fit in the picture?

11. Quality first, or quantity?

12. If you want help with your SEO…

Optimize your business strategy with James’s help

SEO as reputation management

James’s personal experience with SEO started as a desire to manage his own online reputation.

At 23 James had an acting role in the feature film, Muriel’s Wedding. That part got him an entry in IMDb, which was the first thing that came up when people Googled his name.

Later James wanted to be known for more than that. This led him to purchase his first domain, JamesSchramko.com, in order to rank higher than his IMDb page, giving him control over his online presence.

Gert says the issue James faced is a common one, with many people and businesses wanting to have more control over their Google search results. This is particularly important for businesses that have evolved or shifted focus, and may have old or irrelevant information showing up in searches.

Often, people understand the importance of SEO for non-branded searches, the equivalent of the Yellow Pages approach, where customers search for a service and find your business. However, they forget that other channels also impact SEO and the overall brand image.

Negative search results have a number of impacts. If a company has bad listings, despite their ad spending, potential customers might be put off during their research phase.

Also, competitors can use these negative listings to lure customers away. Some competitors might have articles with catchy titles to draw away prospects - Read This Before You Buy from XYZ - or offers that divert customers; others may try to piggyback on a company's brand awareness to boost their own business.

This stresses the need for businesses to control the first impression their brand makes on Google, and thus manage their reputation.

Even businesses with no negative experiences need to control the flow of information, ensuring potential customers are directed to the correct places. This could be by featuring pages for names that people are frequently searching for.

For those with negative reviews, strategies might include trying to suppress the negative content or requesting its removal, although these methods must be employed carefully to avoid worsening the situation.