If you’ve been browsing around the SEO community for a while, you’ve probably noticed the phrase ‘reputation management’ thrown in here and there. When the majority of talk is about how to get your site to the top of the search engine listings, it might seem a little strange to be talking about managing online reputations.
Reputation management has a very intimate connection with search engine optimisation. The two things can be undertaken completely separately, but it is often a very good idea to incorporate your reputation management into your SEO campaign.
Reason 1: Giving a helping hand to SEO
One very solid reason to bother about reputation management has to do with search engine optimisation. A strategy that is central to reputation management on the net is to take control of the top spots in the search engine results for your brand keywords and main industry keywords. In doing so, it is hoped that any bad news can’t make it onto the main pages, meaning that fewer people will see it.
This has obvious repercussions in terms of SEO. With every spot in the search engine results pages (SERPs) that you control, the more likely it is that the average internet user will land on your page. Studies have shown that having several representations on the SERPs increases clicks. This is one of the reasons behind the use of search marketing as part of an SEO plan, and you can discuss this topic with our experts at SEO Consult Australia. If you are able to get your business mentioned in several of the results listed for your main keywords through reputation management, it is likely that your click through rate will go up impressively.
Reason 2: Cover all bases
A second, and no less important, reason to incorporate SEO and reputation management is that both can help the other. In combining the two, it is usually possible to achieve a more effective outcome in both.
The reason behind this is, of course, because the two can help each other along. In exploring the areas required for reputation management, you’re likely to come across some sites that can help your SEO. The reverse is just as true: in looking for areas to use for your off-page search engine optimisation, you’re effectively helping out your reputation management. The two strategies help each other naturally, but keeping the other in mind when performing the work can achieve better results in the end.
Reason 3: Don’t cover the same ground twice
This is possibly the most important reason to include your reputation management plan within your SEO work. One of the bigger challenges facing most online businesses today is getting everything done efficiently. Too many businesses are used to running their marketing, PR and IT plans completely separately. When it comes to a website, however, all three intersect to such an extent that you can be covering the same ground several times without knowing it. Incorporating your reputation management into your SEO removes at least one double-up.
