Small to mid-sized businesses frequently fail to see the value of reputation management, especially online. When every decision rides on the competence and experience of one or two individuals, key issues frequently go overlooked. Hey, it’s only natural. But this isn’t one of those areas you should let slip by.

Experience tells me that small companies are often subject to unfair criticism from ex-employees or poor vendor relationships. Small business lends toward a more comfortable, personable atmosphere in the workplace, which can be great for morale, until a relationship goes awry. Just one disgruntled employee might feel empowered to slander or even falsely accuse a former employer. I’ve even seen instances where former employees or business partners take on false identities in forums and pretend to be the voice of the company.

Any company that utilizes a website for any amount of lead generation or business interaction will suffer from accusations or any level of bad press. Imagine how difficult it could be to sell a high level product or gain an investor if anyone checking your name online first reads accusations against you and your company! The damage is irreparable… or it would be, if not for online reputation management!

Just keep in mind that the goal is to create positive results which replace the negative results. More often than not, you won’t convince a webmaster to remove content from their site without a lawsuit. Your most reliable option is to hire someone to do some SEO/ORM for your name or company name. I would personally recommend MarketNet, especially if you’re looking for a Dallas-based Search Engine Optimization company. That said, there are other professionals out there who can help (and MarketNet handles search and social marketing for clients all around the country, as well).

Regardless of whom you choose, make sure they know what they’re doing. If you’re not sure, contact me and I’ll review their website and claims and let you know whether they appear to have it all together.

This site is meant to be a useful tool for business owners, marketing managers, and PR professionals. It’s more of a hobby for me, so I don’t have much to gain from giving you advice (unless you click on my AdSense ads). I think I made a total of $35 for last year from my other website, so I’m obviously not doing it for the money.

Questions and comments are always welcome.

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