Protecting your Search Reputation

When is the last time you’ve Googled your business? You might be laughing right now and asking yourself why you’d possibly Google your business. You don’t have time for that, right?

Let’s think about it.

What’s the first thing you do when you’re about to meet with a potential business partner, check out a new restaurant, or visit a new service provider in town? You look it up online. Potential clients are doing the same thing with your business, and if they don’t like what they see, that simple Google search has the power to make or break you. If the first thing consumers see when they search you is a negative article or a bad review, you could lose a potential sale. Confused about how to fix this? You don’t need to spend an insane amount of money to hide bad news; you just need to improve your online reputation.

Google your Business and Secure your Accounts

If you still haven’t looked up your business, do it now (then come right back to this blog). What did you see? Be thorough in your search. If you see negative content at the top, your first step should be to contact the source and see if they’d be willing to remove it. If it’s a bad review you’re dealing with, consider that many reviewers are willing to change their review if you make it right. If you can’t get the content removed, introduce new, positive content that negates the other stuff and outranks it. Ask people that love your business write reviews. Make sure you have a search-optimized website and update your social media pages regularly. Your social media pages should be optimized, too. While you’re at it, and if you haven’t done so already, make sure that you are the only business using your name. Secure your domain and social channels—even if you never plan on using them (we’re looking at you, TikTok and Quora). When you do this, you ensure that no one else can take them and confuse your businesses.

Set up Google Alerts

If you’re especially concerned about negative content coming out about your business, set up Google Alerts. Any stories that come out with your name in it will trigger an alert sent right to your email. It’s a great way to keep track of what’s being put out there about your business.

Be Mindful of your Content

There’s a reason they say the internet is forever. You can delete a tweet, but someone always has receipts. Plan out your content ahead of time and be mindful of what you’re putting out there. Don’t create posts because an intense emotion—like anger—tells you to. Don’t talk badly about other businesses or associates. Make sure your content is on brand and someone checks it over for grammar and spelling mistakes. No one likes an embarrassing typo. 

Don’t hide behind privacy settings. Chances are, there is going to be a not-so-great review here and there. But if you have a slew of great, positive content coming out—blog posts, social media posts, etc.—it won’t rise to the top of the search results.

As always, the BadCat team is here to help you build a strong offense. Let us know how we can help!