Let’s assume that you’re just like every other joe or jane on the street. You don’t own a company. You haven’t been slandered in the press. No one is saying anything bad about you online. In fact, no one is saying anything at all about you online. You don’t have to be a marketing guru to do a little basic reputation management. Let’s say you’re looking for a job or, maybe, thinking about looking for a job, and you want prospective employers and head hunters to learn about you online.

On second thought, maybe you just hate searching for your name on Google and finding results for some other guy or girl with the same name. Each circumstance will be unique, but here are a few quick and easy ways to improve your online reputation without paying a professional:

1. Buy a domain name. Try to buy your name as a domain name (example: johnsmith.com). I recommend DreamHost to register and privately host your domains. If your name is common and the exact match is unavailable, look for a combination of your name and either a location or a professional title (example: johnsmithdallas.com or johnsmithcopywriter.com). Pick something you like, but make sure your name is up front. If you register at least one domain in this manner, you can go ahead and check to see if your name is available with hyphens (example: john-smith.com). Owning this domain is fine, but I would operate it as a second domain, not as your one and only. Hyphenated domains don’t always rank as well for keywords.

It’s not enough to OWN a domain name. You need a live site and you need readable, relevant, content. Since you are not likely a web designer, I recommend you download WordPress blog software for free and start a blog on your new site. Write at least once a week and remember that what you write will be read by your professional peers and potential new employers - each blog post you write is an opportunity to showcase your personality, intelligence, wit, and your grasp of your chosen profession.

2. Join several free article publisher websites. I recommend Buzzle, Amazines, Content Articles, Helium, and Ezine Articles. These are listed in order of importance and current search engine authority. Join each of these publishers and post at least one article on each that you write. Pick a subject that you are somewhat of an expert on and keep it simple and informative. Remember that any headhunter or interviewer may review these words prior to your interview, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve posted well written pieces.

3. Join several social media / networking sites. Top recommendations include: LinkedIn, Twitter, Naymz, Delicious, Technorati, and Magnolia. When you are trying to build search engine results for your name, each site you join must be joined under your real name. Use nicknames and handles for those sites or profiles meant just for your personal enjoyment. Create each profile for reputation management under your first and last name and be sure to add background and professional information when possible. Other sites you should consider joining include: Digg, Reddit, Propeller, and Facebook.

4. Register your blog with several blog directories. Top picks for blog directories include: Globe of Blogs, Blog Catalog, Blogflux, Bloghub, and Blogarama. Register under your first and last name and follow the online directions to add your blog to each directory.

5. Read other people’s blogs and write comments. Most blogs require you to enter your name and email address before you can post a comment. This is another chance for you to write intelligent responses to what you read, and to earn some low level rankings for your name as well. Go ahead and enter your blog URL in the field available. This gives you the added benefit of sending a few blog comment readers to your site.

6. Create a blog that is hosted on the blog software URL. Blogger and WordPress are the two most popular blog platforms and their URLs already have some strength. You can create a blog on Blogger’s or WordPress’ site and piggback off of their search engine authority (example: johnsmith.blogspot.com and johnsmith.wordpress.com). I know it sounds like you’ll have to write copy for several sites, and you WILL, but taking 30 minutes per blog per week shouldn’t be to hard to fit in, especially if you’re motivated to create some good search results and content to promote your career.

Each one of these options is free. They take a little time, but the rewards of a solid search reputation is well worth it. Of course, you will have some questions along the way like “how do I add WordPress to my blog?” or “how do I set up my new DreamHost hosting account so I can put a blog there?

Personal repute management can be handled quite well by individuals working from home. This is especially significant for those who aim at running their personal businesses online or find a home business opportunity profitable for them. As published in the home business review journal increasingly high number of people is eager to find work at home to avoid the hassle and cost of commuting long distances while some others work from home for the ease and flexibility it offers.

Feel free to shoot me any questions you might have about the finer points of building your online reputation.

Popularity: 79% [?]

Go online to MediaPost’s Search Insider and read Rob Garner’s Top 17 Tips for Search Engine Reputation Management Optimization. Rob provides a good basic list of tips for the beginner needing to improve their image online.

Creating sub domains is an especially useful tip that I don’t think gets emphasized enough. Perhaps your company’s website and/or a personal website rank #1 and #2 for your name, but #3 is some unfounded accusation against you or your company. Depending on the strength of the website hosting the accusatory content, you’ll have to adjust your strategy. Still, creating a subdomain with your name in front of the company name (example: johnmark.awesomebusiness.com) will give you another premium ranking for your name, assuming you put quality content on it and get some good links to it.

For one client or another, I’ve been doing all the things Rob suggests except for the subdomains. Using subdomains really is a good idea. I just don’t always have the control to implement such practices on a client’s website. One of the downsides of contract or agency work is that the specialist rarely is given the power to implement any and all strategies which could benefit the client.

If you’re not doing these 17 things, now is the time. If you have already attempted them or need further explanation on how to accomplish them, my door is open.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Whether your intention is to catapault or cripple your company, a successful campaign comes from within. A solid internal structure will be evidenced out in the world. The same is true for a sickly, imbalanced structure.

Are you in a position of leadership at your company? Do you own a company that you’d like to go under? Fear not. Here’s a quick How To Fail guide in seven easy steps.

Tip #1 Give yourself all the credit
Having a talented staff is the best way to make yourself look good. Allow the talents and innovations of your people to launch your personal fame to the next level. Take credit for what they do, and conveniently forget to give credit to them in public. Make sure that no employee is singled out as especially vital to company success or expertise as this will rob you of your intended glory.

Tip #2 Hire more employees instead of giving raises
Whether you want to build a nationally recognized organization or you plan to sell, always hire more employees rather than giving raises. This will quickly cause a downward spiraling shift in employee attitudes. They will feel undervalued, passed over, and slapped in the face each time you bring someone else on to do work you don’t even need yet.

Tip #3 Demand team mentality
Forget about answering the “why”! Demand teamwork and give no reasons why. Guilt ‘em when you can, whenever you can. Make your employees feel like their job security depends on putting in extra effort to keep the team afloat.

Tip #4 Focus group talks around company survival
Build on the team mentality bit. Every time you talk about the condition of the company, mention how badly you need an upturn in profits to stay afloat. This will squelch any metion of raises from your staff.

Tip #5 Shift responsibility of success away from self
We all know that success or failure begins with the head of a company. But we also know that even the most obvious truths will be overlooked by employees who will do anything to look good. Never mention that you might be responsible for company failures. If you absolutely must, do so quickly and change the subject like it was no big deal. This will make the employees feel even more worthless and betrayed. If you do this well enough, you might even lose an employee or two!

Tip #6 Micromanage employees
This step is essential. You cannot overdo this step. In fact, micromanaging works even better if you don’t keep up with what is going on in your company for weeks at a time! Then you can harass your employees with emails and notes and visits to their cubicles, asking them if they’ve checked the latest numbers or added a cover sheet to the TPS reports (gotta love Office Space). No one likes to be micromanaged unless they truly believe they cannot accomplish anything of their own volition. So give it your best shot! While you micromanage, be sure to underestimate all your people. Double check with them on things they’ve already done or that no longer apply to a given project. This will without doubt communicate your lack of trust and faith in their abilities! Watch them run out the door in droves! You’ve all but won (or lost), now.

Tip #7 Constantly look for sympathy from employees
This behavioral pattern is especially successful for small companies where everyone still feels like a family. As the leader of the company, you can always come in looking downtrodden and overwhelmed. All the poor saps who make less money than you will still manage to feel sorry for you when little things go wrong that ruin your day.

If you find this step fits within your company structure, this step will automatically play back into Tip 3 and Tip 5. The goal is to basically seem like you can’t perform basic tasks (though you forgive your own inadequacies and give others hell for theirs). You have to be the victim. Think the victim. Act the victim. Things happen to spite you. For all your amazing hard work and overcomer attitude, let your employees see how badly you get screwed over.

A companyís reputation is not a good entity to get insured and hence no insurance leads can help the matter but a strong head. Although insurance business has become as common as to cover very common areas of daily life, such as health whereby health insurance is implemented under health insurance law. Even some independent bodies in the form of insurance agent and insurance carrier assist the insurance buyers in various matters of car insurance where the customers are seeking some discount auto insurance to go with their budget or a dental insurance to keep the heavy expenses of treatment at bay.

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There it is. Follow these seven tips and you are guaranteed to cripple your company’s reputation. You’ll be drinking to the good ‘ol days in no time!

Of course, if you actually want your company to succeed (loser), you will obviously make sure to do the exact opposite of what is written here.

Popularity: 13% [?]