Search Engine Reputation Management
Waimea funding partner and Director of R&D Mikkel deMib Svendsen is the author of the only book written specifically about Search Engine Reputation Management.
We can help you solve current search reputation problems or create a strategy to protect you against future attacks.
Online Branding in perspective
When IAB/Nielsen NetRating came out with their 2004 “Internet Search Brand Effectiveness Research” report, most marketing professionals were surprised by the 27% increase in unassisted brand recognition for the brands showing up in top search engine results, compared to others that were lower.
Many of us knew that search engines had an impact on branding, but we would never have imagined it was so huge.
Before 2004, most companies primarily saw search engines as a direct marketing channel. That’s understandable, as search is a very effective direct marketing vehicle – for example, people who search for a cheap DVD player are very likely to buy it once they find it. With a relatively low cost per lead and high conversion rates, the ROI on search marketing can be exceptional compared to just about any other direct marketing channel.
After 2004 more and more companies began to pay attention to their brand in search engines. Not only did they start to care more about how they ranked with their own websites, but also which other websites Google showed for their most important keywords.
What some companies found was shocking.
Search results were full of negative listings about their companies, products and services – undermining the core values of their brands. It wasn’t hard to see the negative influence it had on sales. Something had to be done.
Billions of dollars are wasted every year on branding campaigns that are being undermined in search engines.
For other companies the results looked great, with mostly positive things being said about them. Of course that gave them less incentive to do more. Some, however, began to see how they could creatively exploit the positive results to gain even more sales and build stronger brands. You can learn how to do this too.
Yes, they definitely are. Social media have become increasingly important over the years and they just keep gaining momentum.
However, dealing with your reputation in search and social media are two very different things. Neither the research methods, strategies or techniques applied are the same, and if we had to cover both topics in one book it would become either too long or too superficial. So we decided to focus on Search Engine Reputation Management in this book and explore Social Media Reputation Management in another.
We will be covering a few isolated aspects of social media in this book, but our focus will primarily be on the things that directly impact search results.
We hope you enjoy reading this book and learn what you need to manage your brands better in search engines. Happy reading!
Table of contents
Foreword
PART 1: Introduction to Search & Reputation Management
- The Two Most Important Facts About Search
- Your Reputation in Search is Invisible
- Nobody Looks Beyond the First Page – But…
- How Can Bad Search Results Hurt Your Business?
- Just How Ugly Can it really Get?
- Four Reasons to Engage in Search Engine Reputation Management
- Who Can Benefit from Search Engine Reputation Management?
- How much Can You Influence Search?
- The Five Most Important Rules of Search Reputation Management
- Beyond Search Engine Reputation Management
PART 2: Search Engine Reputation Management Strategies
- Three Ways to Combat Negative Search Results
- Four Categories of Strategies
- Protect Yourself with a Tailgating Strategy
- The Dark Arts of Removing Negative Websites
- Are You Ready for a Worst-Case Scenario?
- Warning: Never Call Your Lawyer First
- Where do You Start?
- Ten Steps to Successful Search Reputation Management
PART 3: Keyword Research – the Key to Success
- It All Starts with Keywords
- Keyword Research – the Art and the Tools
PART 4: Data Collection, Ratings and Assessments
- Collect the Right Data
- Automated Data Collection is Tempting
- Select the Right Search Engines
- You’ve Got to Be There to See It
- Depersonalize Your Search
- Store all the Search Results
- Collect Data for Each Unique Domain
- Rating of All Unique URLs
- Rating Conversion and Weighting Scales
- Report Findings and Extract Data
- Assess All URL’s
- Analyze Each Keyword
- Analyze the Negative Websites
PART 5: Organic Strategies
- Good Friends Are Your First Line of Defense
- Push the Negative Websites Down
- Make a Different Page on a Website Rank Better
- Manipulate the Source
- Promote Positive or Neutral Pages
- Keep Track of and Link to Positive Sites
- How to Remove Negative Search Results
- Boost Your Message with a Strong PR Strategy
- Redirect Bad Traffic
- Link Building 101
PART 6: Paid Strategies
- Search Ads Give You a Platform to Speak
- Everything is for Sale – for the Right Price
- Bribery Has Such a Bad Name
PART 7: Legal Strategies
- The Right to be Forgotten
- Do Your Homework Before You Call Your Lawyer
- Do You Really Think it’s Illegal?
- Can You Identify the Offender?
- Is the Offender in Your Jurisdiction?
- How Likely Are You to Win a Case?
- Even if You Win You May Not Win
- A Legal Case Takes (Too Much?) Time
- Call Your Lawyer for Legal Advice
- Never Let Your Lawyer Loose on the Web
PART 8: Monitor and Benchmark Results
- Manual Checking of Search Results
- Using Reputation Scoring as a Benchmark Tool
- Automated Rank Checking
- Automation with Search Alerts
PART 9: Search Reputation Management on a Budget
- Link to the Positive Pages about you
- Google and Yahoo Alerts
- Optimize Your Online Profiles
- List of References
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