Is Your Online Reputation Haunting Your Business Future?

You have all the makings of being a great small business owner.

With that being said, there seems to be something holding you back from acquiring more customers. Could it be something to do with your employees? Perhaps it is the product/s or services that you offer? Lastly, maybe your competition is just far and above better than you?

If the answer is no to all of those suggestions, maybe it is something you never even gave a second thought. Could your online reputation be impeding you from taking your company to new heights in 2013? For too many business heads, word gets around online about them or their company, ultimately painting them in a bad light.

So, how can you as a business owner fight back and make a better online name for yourself and your company?

Among the items to keep in mind:

1. Where’s the problem? - If you discover that online reputation is in fact hurting your small business, why is that to begin with? Did you have a run-in with a customer who then took to social media to bash you? Is a current employee going behind your back and putting negative information on the Internet about you and/or the company? Is your competition spreading false information about your company in order to improve its financial standing? No matter what the problem is, ignoring it is akin to creating more trouble. You must address the issue so that it does not snowball out of control and put your company in jeopardy of gaining new customers;

2. Who handles the problem? - Once you determine your online reputation is being attacked, you need to determine if you or outside help will address the matter. While you may think you are saving money by addressing the problem through in-house means, do you have the skills that a professional online reputation management provider can offer? In all likelihood, the answer is no. With an outside provider, they can take the time to better tagging and search engine optimization (SEO) of all company-produced items, including things such as press releases, white papers, blog posts, customer testimonials, etc. When that happens, such copy will rise to the top of a Google or other search engine, while the negative stuff drops lower on the totem pole of SEO. They can also zero in on how to remove personal information that is hurting your search engine ranking;

3. You need to be more alert - One of the problems businesses confront when finding negative content online is that they were not looking for it in the first place. Whether it is you the business owner or someone on your team, make sure you periodically Google your name and your company’s name to see if there are any negative pieces floating around the Internet. You also have the option of setting up alerts via different software programs and sites to see what is being reported about you and your business. Make sure you check out things such as social media sites, blogs, online forums, and images and videos that may be tied to your company. It may seem like much to do, but are you willing to not do it and then suffer the repercussions from a bad online reputation? Assuming the answer is no, being alert does matter;

4. Walk with a big stick - Finally, make sure you let others know who are speaking badly of you online that you will take action. One of the biggest challenges you will face is determining exactly who the culprit or culprits are in fact. It could be an employee, a competitor, a customer or someone else speaking negatively about you online. There words (keystrokes) could end up doing major harm to your small business, so make sure that they know there are consequences for misinformation. If they have a legitimate beef with you, look to see how you can respond in a professional manner. Using websites and forums to carry on battles with people is not a good idea, as it can lessen your online reputation.