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Four Tactics to Use Reverse SEO to Mitigate a Corporate Crisis

By Julie Ann Ross in Featured

Reverse SEO can help mitigate a corporate crisis, especially when the crisis is being played out in social media networks and on blogs. Many times, a story grows online instead of in the mainstream media, which can cause major problems with a company’s search engine rankings.

Whenever someone searches for the company name, the story will be the first several listings to appear on the first page, not the company’s home page. But with proper tactics, this story can eventually be pushed down off the first page.

Here are four reverse SEO tactics a PR professional can use to suppress the negative stories from search results

Reverse SEO Tactics #1. Start a Blog on the Company Website

Search engines love websites that post new content on a regular basis. A blog is the best way to do this. Not only does it help the PR pro do some reverse SEO during the crisis, it also helps the marketing department with regular SEO, so the company can be found for their chosen keywords.

If the search engines can see regular updates to a website, they are more likely to push it to the top of their results, displacing the negative story.

Reverse SEO Tactics #2. Respond POSITIVELY to the Criticisms

The worst thing to do during a crisis is to let emotions take hold and to respond in kind to negative comments in the heat of the moment. While the first instinct may be to take on the naysayers and critics, a shrill outburst will not only delay the reverse SEO efforts, it will fan the flames of the story. There are too many cases of PR pros forgetting themselves and causing the story to grow bigger than it would have if they had left it alone. In some cases, the response even becomes a story of its own.

Reverse SEO Tactics #3. Use Social Media Ranking Tools to Determine Whether the Person is Even Worth a Response

Hopefully, companies managing their reverse SEO efforts are using social media monitoring tools to keep up with online mentions. These tools find all mentions of a company’s keywords in different social networks, blogs, and forums. The temptation is for a PR pro to respond to all of them. This can be a big mistake.

Not everyone who responds has the influence to have a big impact on the story. Use a social media scoring and ranking tool to see whether the person has any real “clout” before responding. If they have a low score, it is safe to ignore them. Otherwise, a wasted response to a non-influencer may give continued life to the story.

Reverse SEO Tactics #4. Give it Time

Keep in mind that regular search engine optimization takes time – as much as three to six months. So does reverse SEO. Companies cannot count on immediate results on their reverse SEO efforts. They need to remember they are in this for the long haul. While companies need to deal with a corporate crisis in the usual manner, they need to realize this is a long-term strategy as well.

Just like with every other crisis and problem, this too shall pass. But its effects can linger, thanks to the search engines, if it is not dealt with properly. For some companies and individuals, an old crisis will still rear its ugly head whenever someone searches for the company name, because they did not take the proper steps. But reverse SEO techniques will suppress those results after the original furor dies down.

Reverse search engine optimization is an ideal long-term strategy to deal with company crises, and to protect its online reputation. Not only does it deal with problems as they arise, it can be an effective inoculation against future crises as they develop.

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Article by Julie Ann Ross. Rostin Ventures principals have extensive experience in restoring reputations online, using Reverse SEO among other tactics to provide positive Online Reputation Management Services (ORM Services). http://www.RostinVentures.com.

Reverse SEO Through Good Customer Service

By Julie Ann Ross in Featured

Reverse SEO was all about getting negative information pushed down off of Google, keeping it out of the top search engine ranks, to make sure people did not associate a brand with being an awful place to do business. Reverse SEO was necessary for companies that had a run of bad luck, or a few cranky customers who wanted to harm it. But no one used negativity as a marketing tool.

Then one New York business owner found that the negative results actually increased his sales. The owner of an online eyeglasses company found that by providing bad customer service, which people would complain about online, his page ranked higher on Google. The angrier people got, the higher it went.

It was not until a New York Times article detailed the company’s practices – including fraud and violent threats – that Google was “horrified” to find their search engine was being gamed in so evil and heinous a manner.

What was happening was as people posted their complaints online, they backlinked to the vendor’s website, which is a popular reverse SEO tactic. Google assumed that a backlink to a website was an endorsement, which meant Google believed it was an important site that provided a good user experience. (This is why backlinks are crucial in a reverse SEO strategy.)

Google quickly released a statement that they had “developed an algorithmic solution which detects the merchant from the Times article along with hundreds of other merchants that, in our opinion, provide an extremely poor user experience.”

In other words, Google was now looking at the sentiment surrounding a backlink to determine whether it was a real vote or not, and their solution served as a notice to companies who screwed their customers: do business right, treat people decently, or get banned from Google.

This also means that the best reverse SEO tactic is going to be great customer service.

A lot of businesses already worry about what will happen if they receive a negative complaint on a user review site. They might lose sales, the complaint might be seen on the search engines, etc., so they use any reverse SEO tactics they can. But now that Google has changed, a new strategy to eliminate these complaints is to reverse SEO them through kindness and decency.

The best way to do this? Use these three “customer service reverse SEO tips:”

Customer Service Reverse SEO Tip #1: Ask customers and visitors for positive reviews, if it is truly deserved. This can done on a comment card, a copy of their receipt, a sign by the front door, or even a quick email to the company’s contact list.

Customer Service Reverse SEO Tip #2: Make sure to earn those positive reviews by providing great service and a memorable experience. Everyone loves being made to feel special and important. They love a great experience. And they certainly love being treated with respect and kindness. Nothing will engender a greater positive review than treating customers with sincere respect and kindness.

Customer Service Reverse SEO Tip #3: Visit the sites and social networks where most of the business’ customers are. Many businesses make the mistake of continuing to market and advertise in the places they always have – phone books, newspapers, billboards. But these are not always effective marketing channels. Instead, ask customers where they spend a lot of their time online. If it is a social networking site like Facebook, join Facebook, and friend them. Communicate to them like a person, not like a commercial.

Google has made sure that companies that game their algorithm through customer anger will not benefit. But that does not mean they will eliminate all negative comments. For any companies who still need to remove those from the search engine rankings need to let a positive customer experience be the reverse SEO they need. Follow these reverse SEO consulting tactics to building quality links through good customer service.

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Rostin Ventures principals have extensive experience in restoring reputations online, using Reverse SEO among other tactics to provide positive Online Reputation Management Services (ORM Services). http://www.RostinVentures.com.

Reverse SEO: Restoring Online Reputations

By Julie Ann Ross in Featured

Reverse SEO fits seamlessly within the context of your online reputation management (ORM) program.It is the quickest, most effective solution for dealing with bad press that has surfaced on the search engines about you or your company. By pushing negative listings from the front page of Google, Yahoo, and Bing, reverse SEO shields you from the damaging commentary of others.

Negative publicity online has become one of the most frustrating challenges for companies. It is typically anonymous. Names are often unattached to forum threads, blog posts, and even entire websites. Therefore,it is difficult to track and address the source of the complaint. Moreover, the growing popularity of social networking platforms has made it easier than ever for anyone with a mild grievance to give weight to their grudge. If you or your company have been the target of bad press online, it may be time to launch a reverse SEO campaign.

In this article, we’ll clarify how negative publicity gains traction within the search engines, and how it can lead to a public relations nightmare. We’ll also provide a working blueprint for executing a reverse SEO campaign and controlling the damage.

Controlling Bad Publicity With Reverse Search Engine Optimization

To appreciate why reverse SEO is effective, you should understand how negative press takes root within the top search listings in the first place. Google, Yahoo, and Bing rank pages based on a large number of criteria. If a website and its individual pages satisfy the most important of those criteria, those pages will rank well.

A lot of the bad press that targets companies (possibly even your own) is placed on websites that meet key ranking parameters in the search algorithms. That means the negative publicity can climb into the top positions and gain exposure. When people search for you or your company, they’ll see the bad press. That damages your reputation.

Reverse search engine optimization is an ORM strategy that pushes negative publicity from the top search positions. By moving the bad press off the first page of listings, reverse SEO limits its exposure and stifles its impact.

Ingredients For An Effective Reverse SEO Campaign

Like search engine marketing, reverse SEO uses a methodical, multi-pronged approach to protect your online reputation. The first step is to identify the sites and pages that contain negative publicity about your company, and are ranking for important keywords. Those keywords might include your name, that of your company, or key employees.

The second step of reverse SEO is to analyze those sites and pages for their respective ranking authority. That will help you determine the effort and tools you’ll need to use in order to move them from the first page of listings within Google, Yahoo, and Bing. A negative PR blitz that is spreading across the social networking sites is more difficult to remove than a single blog post that is on a non-authoritative domain.

The third step is to gather the necessary tools and execute your reverse SEO campaign. Utilization of optimization tools such as press releases, a new network of competing sites and blogs, social media profiles, and social bookmarking programs. Reverse SEO may also include heavy content syndication to build high-quality links. A search engine marketing specialist will have these tools at their disposal.

Reverse SEO Begins Before Negative Press Emerges

The best time to launch a reverse SEO campaign is before bad publicity appears in the search engines. This is due to the way that the pages link. A page will rank well within the search engines if there are enough thematic links pointing toward it. However, once it ranks, it will gain exposure. That exacerbates the problem.

Negative press can spread rapidly as people attach the press to their own blogs, sites, forums, and social media accounts. That creates a growing portfolio of links pointing toward the damaging press, cementing its position in the top listings. It becomes more difficult to address. By launching a reverse SEO campaign upfront, you can prevent the negative publicity from gaining exposure in the first place.

Protect Your Online Reputation With Reverse SEO

Reverse SEO should play a key role in your online reputation management program. It is far too easy for unsatisfied customers, resentful employees, lazy journalists, and malicious competitors to tarnish your name. And when it happens, it is usually done under the cover of anonymity. Anonymity makes the complaint or grievance impossible to address in private.

Launch your reverse SEO campaign now – before trouble strikes and the damage begins to gain momentum in the search engines. In a year’s time, you’ll be glad you did.

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Rostin Ventures principals have extensive experience in restoring reputations online, using Reverse SEO among other tactics to provide positive Online Reputation Management Services (ORM Services). When an individual or company name is being searched in Google, Yahoo, Bing and an undesired page or website appears, Rostin Ventures can push the negative page back in the search results where it will rarely, if ever be found.

Reverse SEO Is A Core Element Of Online Reputation Management

By Julie Ann Ross in Featured

Reverse SEO has become critical for all types of organizations. Throughout history, it has never been easier for your customers, competitors, and employees to publish items online that can have a negative impact on your business. If those items gain exposure in Google, Yahoo!, and other major search engines, their effects can last for years. Regardless of whether you operate a small firm with less than ten employees or a multi-billion dollar company, bad publicity can decimate your business.

This article will introduce you to the fundamentals of reverse SEO. We’ll explain how it works and the advantages of using it. We’ll also describe a seldom talked about strategy of leveraging reverse SEO as a preventative approach to online reputation management (ORM). You will discover why many companies are rushing to SEO specialists to enlist their assistance for damage control. If you are not currently using reverse SEO to limit the effects of bad publicity, your company may be vulnerable.

Reverse SEO to Suppress Negative Public Relations Online

By Julie Ann Ross in Featured

Reverse SEO has become one of the most effective strategies for minimizing the impact pf bad publicity within the search engines’ organic listings. It is an online reputation management (ORM) tool of SEO consultants who manage public relations online. Too often, companies become targets for negative press online. Angered customers start blogs to take businesses to task for grievances suffered, real or imagined. Dishonest competitors will often go to great lengths to distribute fraudulent reports online. Still others post untruthful reports about companies simply to cause mischief. The problem is that these blogs, pages, and reports can start ranking well in Google and Yahoo.

Reverse SEO can be used to suppress negative publicity that targets your company in the organic listings. By pushing bad press onto the second, third, and fourth pages of Google, those pages will be prevented from gaining traction or attention. In today’s article, we’ll explain the potentially devastating effects of negative press and how reverse SEO can help you manage your company’s public relations online. We’ll also describe what you can expect when you work with an experienced SEO consulting service.

Why Reverse SEO Tactics Are Used

The reason to use reverse SEO is based upon current societal trends. Many of your customers are likely to research your company on Google, Yahoo, or Bing before purchasing a product or service from you. When they find reviews, they tend to believe them. Unfortunately, there are few barriers that prevent people from posting negative reports online about your business.

For example, a disgruntled employee can start an anonymous blog vilifying your company. An unsatisfied customer can post a less-than-honest story about your business on ripoffreport.com. Your competitors can do the same. The reputations of more than a few companies have been decimated in this way.

When prospective customers find these pages on the search engines, they give them unwarranted credibility. Reverse SEO minimizes the damage. Studies have shown that the vast majority of searchers never venture onto the second page of listings. Of those who do, a small fraction progress to the third page. By pushing negative publicity off the first page of Google’s listings, a reverse SEO strategy removes them from sight.

Reverse Search Engine Optimization Curbs Negative Publicity

Negative publicity, if left unchecked, gains momentum in the search engines. Highly-ranked pages attract links. As inbound links increase to these pages, they become harder to remove. This is why it is important to launch a reverse SEO campaign as soon as bad press emerges, if not beforehand. By suppressing negative pages quickly, you can prevent them from gaining traction. Cut off from a supply of links, they will eventually submerge into the depths of the search engines’ listings.

The Basic Strategy of Reverse SEO

In the same way that a search engine optimization project requires a refined approach, a reverse SEO campaign should also follow a rigid formula. The basic strategy relies upon a network of authoritative sites to control the first page of organic listings for your company’s name. That includes article and press release syndication, capturing keyword-rich sub-domains on authoritative blog sites, and carefully using social networking properties. There are also a number of formidable online tools that can be used to further support your reverse SEO efforts.

By leveraging the ranking ability of these authoritative sites for your company’s name, you can control the first page of organic listings. That pushes negative press downward beyond your customers’ field of view.

The Positive Effects of Reverse SEO Require Time

It’s worth emphasizing that a reverse SEO campaign takes time to gain momentum. Even though you will be leveraging authoritative sites that rank more quickly than other properties, controlling the first page of Google is not an overnight process. However, once these sites climb to the top positions, they are very difficult to remove. Their ranking ability does not guarantee immediate results, but results tend to be sustainable. That means future attempts to attack your company with negative publicity will be forced to climb a much higher wall to do so. In effect, your business will be insulated.

Working With a Reverse SEO Consulting Service

The full-service SEO agency with whom your company works will already have a honed strategy for deploying a reverse SEO campaign. They will maintain a list of authoritative sites that are groomed for your circumstances. They’ll research your website’s position in the search engines as well as the positions of any negative press that currently populates the organic listings. Rather than pursuing reverse SEO methods that are unethical and thus, have only short-term results, they will use principled tactics that prevent bad publicity from gaining traction in the future.

Reverse SEO is becoming a popular method for minimizing the damage from complaints and negative reports, whether they are valid or not. In fact, a growing number of companies are relying upon reverse SEO tactics as a preemptive strategy for managing their public relations online.

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Reverse SEO Consultants are found at Rostin Reagor Smith, Inc. With national experience in online reputation management (ORM) and proven strategies for reverse SEO in public relations online, Rostin Reagor Smith is the resource for reverse SEO (reverse search engine optimization,) public relations online, search engine marketing, and ORM (online reputation management.)

© Copyright 2012 All rights reserved. Jayde Online, Inc.

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