Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM)

As the Web continues to evolve, so does search engine reputation management.

In the past, reputation management was a reactive marketing program, usually launched after someone discovered negative information showing up in the search results using your brand or company name as the keyword. This was typically the result of a disgruntled employee launching a web attack focused on how badly he/she was treated, or a negative news story about a business venture that went badly, or a customer complaint about service or product issues. The search engines discovered this information and indexed it because the content on that particular page prominently featured your company name and other sites were linking to it, too. Once the negative information takes its place in the search listings, no matter how invalid the information is, the perception it creates just by its presence is a negative reflection on your brand.

Our SERM program originated as a “white hat” countermeasure to these situations. By optimizing content around their brand name and enlisting the help of other websites that sided with them, our clients’ saw negative information pushed off the first page of search results by newer, more positive information about them that the search engines ranked higher than the older, negative content.

Now, with the explosion of user-generated content and the environments that host it: wikis, blogs, YouTube, Digg, etc., it is becoming increasingly common and easy for people to air negative information about brands on the web. And just like in the past, it doesn’t matter if the negative information is true or not—it carries weight by virtue of it appearing as a search result or in some other third-party “trusted” environment.

Today, in addition to helping our clients counteract negative search listings that hurt their brands, Digital Brand Expressions is also helping our clients develop proactive reputation management programs to help fortify their reputation in advance, which helps limit and offset the impact of negative information when it does arise.

A combination of search engine optimization, paid search management, and social media management helps our clients appropriately protect their brands in the search engines and on the digital outposts that comprise the Web 2.0 sphere.

To learn more about our reputation management programs, including our consulting and services offerings, please contact us today. You can also hear us speak on this topic at SMX on February 27 in Santa Clara, California.