Free Website Content
Online Reputation Protection
Online Repuation Protection
By Sharon Housley
Google is sometimes thought to be the
bane of the Internet, and it certainly can be a thorn
in the side of search engine marketers. Many fail to
look beyond the search of today, toward what the implications
of indexing and storing information will have on future
generations. Forget the slogan "diamonds are forever"
-- "Google is forever" is more accurate in regard to
the Internet. And if not Google, then some other search
giant will be able to retrieve information from previous
years within a few seconds. If something is online,
it does not just "go away". Like it or not, the entire
world is being indexed and categorized, and will be
searchable for years to come.
Individuals today have a personal brand.
Employers and colleagues will search on your name, so
it is imperative that you keep this in mind when posting
online. You must control your online reputation.
The web is not always a friendly place, so what do you
do if you are not using an alias and someone is posting
derogatory information about you, your company, your
products, or your brand?
Monitor Your Brand
The first step in monitoring your brand is to setup
automated notifications within the various search engines,
either via email or an RSS feed. This way, you will
know when you are being discussed, either in favorable
or unfavorable terms. For example, the "Google Alerts"
feature is a free service that will send email notifications
to you when specific words or phrases appear in new
search results. Simply use your name, company name,
product name, or brand as the phrase being monitored.
Ego Feeds work in a similar fashion, except the alerts
appear in a custom created RSS feed that updates whenever
new mentions occur. For more information about Ego Feeds,
see a related article at http://www.feedforall.com/ego-searches.htm
Control Your Brand
The second step in protecting your brand is to take
a pro-active approach to appearing in the top search
results when your name is entered into a search engine.
You can do this by offering interviews, reviews, SEO,
and writing articles or posting blog entries. At the
very least, make an effort to control the top search
results for your name. This will ensure that when your
personal brand is searched, those items will be listed
in the top 10 search results.
Damage Control
If you find something that is damaging or harmful, do
damage control. Control your responses, and behave in
a professional manner so it is clear that you took the
high road when the exchange is viewed by others at a
later time.
Social
The final bit of advice is to simply keep personal things
personal. While the social sites are great for maintaining
friendships, they are not helpful for people who have
an occasional lapse in judgment. Refrain from posting
pictures that show anything that you would not want
your mother or future grandchildren to see, or saying
anything when you are mad or upset since we often say
things "in the heat of battle" that we regret later.
The Internet is preserving and archiving personal history
in a way that has never previously happened. Control
your online reputation for posterity.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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This article may be used freely in opt-in
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box is included and the links are active. A courtesy
copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
Additional articles available for publication available
at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
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