Proactive reputation management is an excellent strategy for any scaling brand concerned about its image online. Being proactive means you stay on top of alerts to your brand, that you remain agile and can respond to customer concerns, and that you’re in touch with your brand’s appearance online. Here are some tips to help you create a system for yourself.
Domain Real Estate
The first thing you can do is to buy up all domain real estate for your brand within reason. You should buy all the common extensions of your brand name, including .com, .net, and .org, and you may want to try some variations on that name too. If you’re a bigger brand, buying your brand name with the word “sucks” attached to it is a good way to secure yourself from negative press before it happens.
Social Profiles
Another great way to expand your presence in search is to secure any social profiles around the Web. Start with the major names, like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, then branch out to the lesser known but still heavily trafficked properties (like Tumblr or Pinterest). This way, if you start to see a lot of activity on any platform you can quickly join the conversation.
Start Pitching Content
The final component to consider is to start promoting yourself by putting more of your work on various blogs. If you can get more guest articles published, you’ll start drawing in readers from outside your blog seeking your expertise. In addition, you also build links to your various profiles. These signals tell Google to identify your sites with your name, thereby improving your standing and reputation in search.
