When I talk about ORM on this site, Twitter, the MarketNet blog, or anywhere else, I’m referring to much more than what is now known as search engine reputation management. SERM, or whatever you want to call it, is but one facet of a robust ORM initiative. So what does search engine reputation management entail, and how is it different from online reputation management as a whole?
The Limitations
As the name implies, SERM is limited to search results. To be more precise, it’s usually limited to page one of search engine results. I’ve consulted for a company, for example, whose primary business model is to sell stakes in various investment opportunities. This company has had negative search result appear on page one every time anyone searches for the CEO’s name in Google, Yahoo, Ask, or Bing. Now, it’s not my job to prove his innocence, though I strongly believe he was an innocent party involved in what the negative result claims. But he came to me to see what I could do about pushing that negative result back to page two by any means necessary.
The Purpose
The idea here is that when selling investments or any high dollar item, people are more likely to do some background research on their own before making the plunge. And if, in the course of a simple Google search, a person were to find a highly suspicious accusation or complaint against a leader or leaders of the company, consumer confidence drops to zero. Hence, bad search results lead to tarnished reputations and lost profits.
By promoting other positive pages and mentions until they rank higher than the negative mention(s), one could “push” the negative results back to page two or even page three, depending on the scope of the engagement.
The Assumption
The assumption here is that people only look at page one of search results (statistically proven). But if you think that sweeping the problem under the rug solves the problem, think again. There are dozens of ways people find information, and hiding negative results leaves the backdoor wide open.
What if the negative comment was made on a blog? Readers can find that post or comment through RSS feeds, internal links, external links, blog directories, social media promotion, etc.
On a forum? People looking for topic specific forums will encounter negative comments on a regular basis before ever encountering a negative search engine result. Forum members may be well versed on your company’s or employee’s soiled reputation and may share what they know both online and off.
In other searches? If I’m looking for research on a type of machine and it leads me to results that also mention something negative about a brand, person, or product, I will be influenced by what I’ve read. It won’t matter that I was looking for x. I also got y and z. My first impression of Brand Y or Employee Z was negative. It’s passive search influence, but it’s very real.
The Answer
As with all incomplete marketing and PR initiatives, the problem begins with a lack of vision, which is the result of a lack of understanding the situation and its consequences. SERM by itself solves nothing. It’s serves as a PR band aid on a gaping wound. Most people might not see the wound, but those who do will see the festering mess that continues to go unaddressed over time.
The answer is to develop a more robust internet reputation management strategy. When I say “more robust strategy”, I’m not tossing out SERM as a bad idea. Not at all. But if you’re dying of poison and only take some Advil, it’s no fault of the Advil that you still die. Advil is a painkiller. Not a detoxifier. Cringe at the dollar signs if you must, but do what it takes to monitor, manage, and build your reputation as though your business depends on it because, well, it does.
SERM is a superficial face-saving strategy, but not a solution. It is SEO for pages other than your primary site in the hopes of promoting 10 positive results to encompass page one of search results for products, people’s names, and other trademarked items. Combine SERM with other best practice ORM strategies and you’ll find that instead of just whitewashing your brand, you can actually strenghten brand perception and customer loyalty. Like everything in business, you get out of it what you put in.
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