Online reputation management services are available to business people who want to make a positive impression on their clients and competitors. These services protect a company’s brand, goodwill and reputation from negative comments and reviews left by other users. This is done by constantly monitoring, maintaining, and updating a person’s online reputation.

Online reputation management is not a new concept. In fact, it has been in use for quite sometime now. This method is now more popular than ever thanks to social media and other social networking sites.

This type of public relations is gaining popularity because it is easy to do. Thanks to social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube, people are able to post their feedback, reviews, and criticisms online. Businesses can respond to and counter negative comments, posts, and reviews left by customers. With the advent of these websites and online reputation management services, it has become much easier for small businesses to manage google reviews and in consequence, their public image. They don’t have to spend a lot of money and hours doing calculations on traditional PR efforts. Instead, they can save time and money by using these methods that are available to everyone with an internet connection and a computer.

An online reputation management service basically involves a company or an organization taking charge of managing a business’s online reputation. This would include monitoring any potential negative mentions made about the brand and making sure these are not mentioned. If an advertisement mentions negative aspects of a brand, the company should screen-capture the discussion online and address the issue. This could be done via blogs, press releases, and website reviews. These methods should be used carefully because it may backfire if a customer makes a complaint too many times.

The first page of search results for something on the internet will always be the one with positive mentions. If the company notices that comments are not being removed from search results, it should also remove them and add a note explaining why. Under certain circumstances, this could be considered spam.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), is another option. This is another proven method that works when done correctly. This strategy uses key phrases and keywords in website content to improve its ranking in search results. A brand does not have to use the most searched keywords and key phrases. However, a low ranking can have the same effect as a number one. If a company cannot control which keywords are used, then it is advisable to find an online reputation management company.

Negative comments and posts in online conversations are one of the biggest areas that can cause brand damage. Negative comments and posts should not be ignored because the Internet is interconnected. If a brand allows these conversations to go unfixed, then the online reputation management service should step in and monitor the situation.