Internet reputation management is important in this day and age of easy web postings by individuals. Social media such as Facebook or Twitter and personal websites or blogs have no controls, so anyone can post almost anything about you at any time.
However, your own blog can be a powerful tool to repair your online reputation, and you should know how to use it for this specific purpose. This article will guide you through some simple steps that are easy to implement in the battle for a positive Internet reputation.
Keep Page Rankings High
Negative comments about you or your company will have no impact if online searches yield only your own positive blog posts. But to achieve this, you must earn a high Google page rank for the keywords associated with your blog. This includes of course your blog name, your business name, and your personal name, but also other keywords from your blog topics. To achieve this, you’ll need to employ some simple search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.
The Google algorithm for page ranking includes keeping content fresh. Posting to your blog should be done at least two to three times per week, preferably more. You can also generate fresh content by having your Twitter feed on your home page. Assuming you tweet daily, each Tweet is uploaded to your blog, showing consistent new activity to the Google web crawler.
Google cracked down in the last few years on “link farms” that abused the part of their analysis that rewards companies with many links from other websites. That said, links from other websites are still important in search engine optimization. Choose websites for links strategically, such as other blogs in your topic area or websites with very large hits per day—for example, a big news website. Don’t overdo SEO, but with some judicious use, you’ll see your blog posts coming up first in keyword searches.
Don’t forget to create a Google+ profile and link +1 on your home page to further enhance your page ranking. Google sees those in their circles as producing high-quality content – whether or not that is true is subjective, but not to mathematical algorithms. Regardless, searches will push those with these attributes higher, helping combat negative online comments.
Establish Yourself as a “Thought Leader”
Blogs written by authorities in a field can easily deflect negative online reputations. Establish yourself as what is now called a “thought leader” with engaging, creative, intelligent commentary. Blog posts that are just ads do little to give you credibility. Talk about substantive topics and share information and data.
Interviews with experts in your field do multiple things for your online reputation. First of all, if you’re associated with an expert, surely you must be okay. And secondly, links back to the expert’s website will help boost your blog’s SEO.
Monitor, Monitor, Monitor
It’s key to stay on top of SEO, as your rankings will change over time, and you have to stay on top of keywords and who else is participating in your space. Also, be sure to monitor online comments about you. Sign up for Google Alerts that will let you know who is talking about you or your company. You can’t fight a poor online reputation if you don’t know what’s going on!
With these simple steps, you’ll know how to use your blog to repair your online reputation. It takes a little effort at the beginning, but a strategic plan will ensure success and then become part of an Internet reputation management routine.
Sarah Boisvert is an author who specializes in business topics including marketing, sales, and finance. She also writes on manufacturing topics such as 3D printing.
Photo Credits
Salvatore Vuono | freedigitalphotos.net | libreseneltiempo.org | Sarah Boisvert
