How to create a bullet proof reputation on the web Reputation Management 101

Today more and more people are beginning to realize that what a Google search says about them can positively or negatively affect their life. Industry experts like Reputation Pros say the reputation management space is one of the fastest growing industries today. The problem is most people don’t worry about these results until it is too late. The fact is it is best to start building what these results say about you while you are in complete control. There are three definitive parts to your online presence.

·         Positive Content- Simply put positive content can be  articles, blog posts, social media posts and possibly even reviews regarding your name or brand.

·         Neutral Content- Neutral content can be basic information or information not about you or your brand neither positive nor negative.

·         Negative Content- Negative content can be anything you don’t want the world to see from articles, social media reviews and negative for profit review websites.

Once you have run a Google and Bing search on your name or brand online you should start by classifying each result on your first 3 pages. Typically most searchers don’t even look past page one of your Google search results. If you have done that and you don’t see any negative content you are in good shape, but now is the time to start building a strong reputation that you can control for the long term.

First on the agenda is to own your brand or personal name. You can search your brand or name by going to Go Daddy and searching. So if your name was to be say, David Hilton. You would simply enter davidhilton and you will see if the domain is available Hopefully the name you are seeking is available. My suggestion is buy it. It is only a few dollars per year to own the domain even if you don’t put up a website no one else can own it. If you decide to put up a website to promote your name you can build it almost anywhere and attach it to the URL you now own. If the website is strictly for self-promotion simply use a biography. You can find many on the internet and a get a good idea of the format to follow. Be sure to use the name you intend to promote within the content several times. Try to build several pages including a contact page. 

Second is to build your reviews. There are several reputable review sites on the web, but most of them are geared towards companies. There are reviews in Facebook, Yelp, Yellow Pages, Glass Door and even Google. Review sites have high domain authority so it is a good idea to have several up there and request your better customers to post good positive reviews.  If you are building a personal reputation or brand, I would suggest not putting up personal reviews unless you already have negative content reviews from one of the negative review sites. If that has already occurred, you already have your work cut out for you. Make sure wherever possible you leave links back to any sites you are using for promotion as this will make them stronger in search results.

Third is to build your professional media presence including Twitter, Linkedin and Crunch base. These sites have very high domain authority and will appear high on your search rankings. Make sure you post a good strong positive biography with your brand or name in it a few times also make sure you put links to any and all sites you can that you are using for promotion. All links will work together to help you control the first few pages of your search results.

Fourth are directory sites and there are many for business. Many are industry-specific so make sure the sites you choose relate to your industry where applicable. The following are not industry-specific  Manta, YP,  Merchant Circle, Google and Angies list. Once again most of them offer on or two links back to your web site. Make sure you add those links as well as you are building a strong brand or name presence on the web.

Your fifth step should be to add a blog. You can get a blog site from Blogger, Wix and Yola for free. Make sure you add content that is in line with your line of business and you can provide many links within the blog back to your sites. Make sure you provide links to all your sites even your social media.

Finally make sure the URL or web addresses you choose for all your sites contain your name or brand name. Even the social media outlets allow you to choose your own specific URL. If your name is David Hilton for instance and the URL davidhilton is taken try david-hilton.  The fact is this will take a lot of work, but not a lot of money. It will help build you a bullet proof reputation that will promote your brand and protect you from any future negative content.

By Don Thomas

About the Author

Don Troiano is a member of Reputation Pros LLC. A leading provider of reputation management and brand promotion.

DEFENDING YOUR NAME AS A CYBERSTALKING VICTIM BY DON TROIANO

Important dos and don’ts of what to do when you are confronted by a cyber stalker



Stalking has been going on forever and now stalkers have new tools to harm you in ways not conceivable just 10 years ago. Today a stalker can attack a victim on social media, bulletin boards, comment sections on media and lastly on negative review websites. To make things worse it can all be done anonymously and therefore protects the stalker from prosecution. Here is how Cyberstalking  victim can fight back.



The first thing a victim needs to do is take a step back and do not do or write anything online acknowledging the stalker for a couple of reasons. Number one is replying to the stalker will often give them the satisfaction that they know they are causing the victim pain and in other cases can anger the stalker worse. In both cases the fact is, acknowledging the stalker is only more likely to bring on more posts and further exacerbate the situation. The second reason and more important is when a victim replies to these attacks it actually makes the attacks stronger in the search engines and increases the sites domain authority as it has more content. Whatever a victim does do not respond in any way to these attacks.



A second thing a victim can do is contact webmaster of sites the stalker is utilizing to attack the victim. Many, not all webmasters will recognize the fact that the content on their site is being used for cyberstalking and a mere email request will get things done. Other webmasters may take a little more persuasion and constant emails will often help. Please note not to threaten the webmaster and simply plead your case. For certain sites, the webmaster is looking to charge a fee and it can be a great deal of money and that option will probably be off the table for many victims. Additionally, some of the sites are negative review sites that actually promote negative content and have high web authority so removal from these sites will usually be the most damning and costly to remove.



The third thing a victim can do is a full-blown reputation management campaign. I would suggest hiring a quality firm for this if the cost is within the victims budget. Reputation Pros has a very good and cost-effective membership program at less than $300 per month. If these costs are out of reach then it is time to roll up your sleeves.  A full-blown reputation management campaign is very laborious, but a victim can achieve good results simply by building a positive web presence that can push the negative content deep in to search results. This is achieved by posting a vast amount of positive content through social media, blog posts, owning a URL with the victim's name and finally by garnering positive news pieces with the victim named in articles.



Last if not least a victim can sue the stalker in court and gain “injunctive relief” that the victim can bring to the search engines in a request for de-indexing the sites posting the negative content.  If a victim chooses this method it is important to note that the victim should have every single page listed within the order to make sure all pages with negative content are removed from search results. It also needs to be noted that suing can be a complicated and costly process.



In conclusion, a victim can fight back against cyberstalking. It will not be easy. It will not be free, but if the victim is as motivated as the stalker they can achieve a positive outcome. It will take patience and perseverance and a lot of learning, but a positive outcome can be achieved.



By Don Troiano



About the author



Don Troiano is an executive with Market Pros a reputation management company and a former cyberstalking victim.

As Director of a multinational digital marketing company , Don Troiano often deals with challenging situations every day. In his position, Troiano oversees many staff members, and speaks to numerous clients. His daily tasks involve branch sales, business development, market analysis, and customer support. Mr. Troiano focuses on clients’ needs, working to determine the right marketing  solution for the situation. Don Troiano and his staff members strive to help companies by increasing online presence and community outreach. He currently runs two companies in the marketing space Reputation Pros and Market Pros.  Educated at Western Connecticut State University at Danbury, Troiano successfully pursued his academic career, graduating with a final grade point average of 3.6. Since that time, Don Troiano followed his interest in marketing into the BPO space where he successfully helps clients navigate the ever changing world of online including BPO and social media . In addition, Don Troiano serves as a member of three professional organizations: America's Community Energy Council, the Energy Research Foundation, and the American Association of Energy. In his spare time, Don Troiano enjoys hiking, skating, and football. A believer in the value of contributing to the local area, Don Troiano volunteers at the Center for Urban Community Services and donates to Have a Heart Children's Cancer Society and St. Jude Childrens Hospital and the Roman Catholic Church.


Don Troiano -Information