Tag Archives: online reputation

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Reputation Communications

One of the most frequently asked questions online reputation management (ORM) firms receive is, why is this outdated/irrelevant/negative content showing up in my Google search results?

Ultimately, Google’s goal is to provide visitors with the most relevant and reliable information about every topic that is searched for.  AI has not changed that.

That said, AI is rapidly changing the internet in ways that impact how you and your organization appear on Google. If the results that appear in a search of your name and your organization’s look different than they did months ago, AI is why. Earlier this year, Google rolled out AI summaries of its own search results to all users in the U.S. They appear before many websites – including, possibly, your personal branding and company websites. Christopher Mims, the technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote about that and other changes in his timely article, Googling Is for Old People. That’s a Problem for Google.

But some things have not changed. Sites that have the most comprehensive and well-written information, have the highest number of visitors, and are linked to the most legitimate and high-ranking websites, are still the ones that come up the highest and fastest in Google searches (aside from those Google-created AI summaries). That’s why platforms like Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and video-based ones like Instagram rank so highly…and also why media platforms do, too.  When you strategically create SEO-rich content for those types of outlets, anchored by personal branding websites and other intentional content, you can often outrank the unwanted material that is coming up on your Google searches.  (Our comprehensive guide, The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs, explains why.)

Google has long maintained a market share of around 85 percent of the global search market. Bing accounts for under 4 percent of it. Google and Bing are spending billions of dollars to utilize AI in their search results, but those stats are not changing.

As the world’s dominant search engine, Google publishes considerable, free information about what makes its algorithm tick. It also keeps the world informed every time it makes a change to its algorithm via the X site, Google Search Central (@googlesearchc). Check them out when you have time.

 
 
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Reputation Communications' online reputation management glossary

We all know the impact that negative publicity can have on a brand, whether it is your own, or a professional-services brand like a law or consulting firm. Negative information tends to be more clickable, driving search engine algorithms to put them higher in the results. And in an online world where a potential new customer or investor has an abundance of choice, one negative result headline can persuade her to choose another firm or partner.

That’s why online reputation management exists – to help businesses and individuals navigate negative publicity, whether or not it is true.

Maintaining a good online brand is not only about avoiding negative publicity, however. There are other steps that any business or individual should take, especially if they operate in industries such as finance, law, or security where trust is an essential component of any client relationship.

Invest in positive publicity

o   Making sure the Internet reflects all the positive things you accomplish – awards you win, important achievements, etc. – creates impressions that help to instill trust at the moment a potential client comes in contact with your brand.

Provide information

o   Whether you’re a business or an individual in a professional space, you possess knowledge that potential clients need. Sharing that knowledge through articles and blog posts helps to establish credibility, and it is an easy way to allow clients to get to know you.

Making sure that negative publicity is managed to have a minimal impact on your brand is critical, but positive brand building is just as important. And even if no negative publicity exists, investing in a positive impression of your brand builds trust and credibility, as well as acting as an insurance policy against information that could damage your online reputation down the road.

 
 
Google, Online reputation management, , , , , , , ,
Right to be Forgotten on Google

Google has just launched an attack on “fake news and problematic content,” including “rumors, urban myths, slurs or derogatory topics.” That is good news for anyone (and any organization) plagued by such issues. It is bad news for low-quality content, fake links and other tactics used to trick Google into suppressing as well as raising online content.

We like it. Now you, the consumer, can flag false, biased, offensive and inaccurate content that Google brings up on search suggestions. You can also include a note that explains why Google should remove it. Equally beneficial, the Internet can potentially become a fairer playing field.

Last week Danny Sullivan, a leading search engine expert, wrote the defining explanation of what this means. These are excerpts from his article on Search Engine Land :

Google knows it has a search quality problem. It’s been plagued since November with concerns about fake news, disturbing answers and offensive search suggestions appearing at the top of its results. “Project Owl” is an effort by the company to address these issues, with three specific actions being announced today.

In particular, Google is launching:

  • a new feedback form for search suggestions, plus formal policies about why suggestions might be removed.
  • a new feedback form for “Featured Snippets” answers.
  • a new emphasis on authoritative content to improve search quality.

“Problematic searches” is a term I’ve been giving to a situations where Google is coping with the consequences of the “post-truth” world. People are increasingly producing content that reaffirms a particular world view or opinion regardless of actual facts. In addition, people are searching in enough volume for rumors, urban myths, slurs or derogatory topics that they’re influencing the search suggestions that Google offers in offensive and possibly dangerous ways.

“These are problematic searches, because they don’t fall in the clear-cut areas where Google has typically taken action. Google has long dealt with search spam, where people try to manipulate its results outside acceptable practices for monetary gain. It has had to deal with piracy. It’s had to deal with poor-quality content showing up for popular searches.

“Problematic searches aren’t any of those issues. Instead, they involve fake news, where people completely make things up. They involve heavily-biased content. They involve rumors, conspiracies and myths. They can include shocking or offensive information. They pose an entirely new quality problem for Google, hence my dubbing them “problematic searches.”

Read his full article: Google’s ‘Project Owl’ — a three-pronged attack on fake news & problematic content.