Online reputation management means more than just looking at star ratings on Yelp or reviews on Angie’s List. If you’re a modern contractor, managing your online reputation can be an important way to promote your business and protect its image so you can draw in more clients and increase your revenue. Here’s what you need to understand about this important strategy for maintaining an effective internet presence.

The CraftJack Reputation Manager helps your business manage its online reputation by reducing negative reviews, improving local search rankings, and increasing customer loyalty. Explore the CraftJack Reputation Manager’s innovative features to learn how we can help your business take the next step toward success.

What Is Online Reputation Management?

Your online reputation is a mix of the information you post online and the things other people post about you or your business. This may include the following types of content:

• Website text
• Blog articles
• Professional and consumer reviews
• Press releases and other media information
• Social media posts and mentions
• Competitor comparisons

Online reputation management is a strategy for managing this content so as to create a positive brand identity on the internet. It can ensure potential customers find the information you want them to see when they search for you online.

How Online Reputation Management Works

Online reputation management is a strategy that’s designed and implemented internally or by an agency hired to act on your behalf. Because every online reputation management campaign is unique, they rely heavily on the norms of the relevant industry and the company’s specific marketing needs.

An online reputation management strategy may be proactive, or it may be launched in the hope of repairing a reputation that’s already been damaged. Either way, a reputation management strategy may consist of some or all of the following components:

• Adding or removing online content and keeping information up to date and relevant
• Optimizing websites and social media accounts for maximum visibility in search engine results using current SEO techniques
• Monitoring mentions on social media and ensuring prompt, thoughtful responses
• Contacting websites to request removal or revision of inaccurate, negative, offensive, or defamatory information or content
• Attracting positive reviews
• Responding to and resolving negative consumer reviews
• Creating and distributing press releases
• Crafting contests and giveaways
• Interlinking or otherwise connecting high-impact content
• Identifying copyright violations and trademark infringement and issuing cease-and-desist letters
• Recommending keywords and topics for content creation

Online reputation management is typically an ongoing, active process rather than a one-time service, and monitoring will likely occur daily or even more often.

Online Reputation Management For Contractors

A business’s internet presence often serves as the first impression to potential clients, which makes having a positive online image essential. By improving your online presence, you can enhance consumer trust, build credibility through transparency, attract better talent, draw in new customers, and increase revenue. In fact, a good reputation is probably the best asset a company can have.

That’s particularly true for contractors and other service professionals who rely heavily on personal recommendations and word of mouth to bring in new clients. Whether they’re positive or negative, online reviews can impact consumer decisions. Because contractors often get leads through word of mouth or positive reviews, online reputation management is essential.

Hiring A Reputation Management Company

Although reputation management strategies may be designed and managed in-house by dedicated internet-savvy employees and marketing professionals, some businesses may opt to hire a reputation management company to handle their internet presence. Reputation management companies are businesses that specialize in monitoring and optimizing your online reputation. By hiring a reputation management company, you can make sure your online presence is one that draws customers without reservations.

Reputation management companies work hard to ensure your online presence is in order by executing some or all of the following actions:

Search Engine Optimization

A reputation management company should ensure that your website is the first thing customers see when they search your company’s name. They should also verify that any other owned content, such as social media accounts, appears on the first page of search results on Google and other popular search engines.

Review Monitoring And Management

An important part of managing an internet presence is managing reviews. Most reputation management companies monitor reviews on popular consumer sites, including but not limited to those listed below:

• Yelp
• Yellow Pages
• Foursquare
• BBB reviews
• Google My Business
• Angie’s List
• Facebook reviews
• Trustpilot

Although reputation management companies can’t always have consumer reviews removed from a website, they can often catch and analyze them before they’re posted. That lets companies address concerns and resolve issues quickly. A reputation management company also help your business create appropriate messaging to respond to negative reviews that are posted.

A reputable online reputation management company will never post false reviews.

Positive Messaging Promotion

A good reputation management company helps businesses promote positive information and messaging found online. This is an effective technique for mitigating the effects of negative online information, which may include competitors’ propaganda and other false or inaccurate local advertising.

SEO Mind Maps

SEO mind maps are an effective technique for physically drawing out thoughts in a way that helps identify and select effective keywords and topics that are relevant to your business. These keywords can then be used to more effectively create and promote blog and website content.

Getting Started With CraftJack

CraftJack’s Reputation Manager has tools designed to improve your business’s all-important internet image. We track your online presence, provide real-time alerts, and deliver analytics based on your unique needs. To learn more about CraftJack and how we can help grow your business, request additional information today.