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CheatSheet: Online Reputation Glossary
The following terms are used frequently in online reputation management.
Algorithm
The formula search engines use to rank websites and determine whether they merit appearing on page 1 or elsewhere in search results.
Authenticity
The quality of being genuine; a valued quality among bloggers and the larger online community.
Astroturfing
Writing fake comments and reviews.
Branded Content
Content that promotes and cultivates a rapport between a targeted audience and a brand’s products and/or services.
Black Hat SEO
Using unethical methods to attempt to raise the ranking of websites in search engine results.
Content
Information delivered in any medium, whether text, videos, podcasts or images. (When two or more media are juxtaposed it is described as “multimedia content.”)
Content Aggregator
A software or web application which collects, combines and publishes a range of syndicated web content (such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts and video blogs).
Content Farms
Companies which create low-quality Internet content with the goal of having their content rank highly in online searches.
Digital Assets
Online images, multimedia and textual content files.
Domain Squatting (also known as cyber squatting)
Registering or using a domain name with the intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cyber squatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns the trademark contained at an inflated price.
Doxxing
Tracing someone or gathering information about an individual using sources on the Internet, then publishing their private information with malicious intent.
Forum
An online discussion site.
Link
A URL name or description providing an instant connection to a different Web site or section of a Web site. A Web site’s page rank on Google (and other) searches is influenced by the number of links pointing to it (“inbound links”), and the quality of the sites they are linking from.
For more in-depth information, read The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQ.
Articles
Attorneys, AI, and Reputation Risk
Attorneys are adopting artificial intelligence faster than they are establishing the guardrails to use it safely. Jennifer L. Ellis, an attorney and consultant who advises lawyers, law firms, and legal organizations on ethics, technology, and…Read more
An Attorney’s Advice for Removing Negative, Defamatory and Infringing Material from the Internet, by Christine Rafin, Esq.
Christine Rafin, Esq. serves as General Counsel – MediaCo LLC and is a former partner in the New York City law firm of Kent, Beatty & Gordon, LLP, specializing in technology-related legal issues. As an attorney specializing…Read more
The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs
Online reputation management (ORM) makes you look your best online. It creates a “digital firewall” to protect your reputation from harmful attacks or misinformation; ensures your public image is accurate, up-to-date and authentic, and is…Read more
AI Doesn't Know You. That's the Problem
Someone Is Telling Your Story Online. It Might Be AI—and It Might Be Wrong. Our Q & A Tells You What to Know. Content Strategy in the AI Era Threats and Protections Practical Action…Read more
Scrubbing Your Personal Info from the Internet, by Don Aviv
Don Aviv, CPP, PSP, PCI is President of Interfor International, a corporate intelligence agency. He is also a Reputation Communications Advisory Board member. This article is republished from his original LinkedIn version. Today, nearly everything is…Read more
Why Celebrities Hire Reputation Attorneys
Recently, People Magazine and other major celebrity media outlets reported that Brooklyn Beckham and his wife, Nicola Peltz, hired British privacy and reputation management attorney Jenny Afia, a partner at the London office of Schillings,…Read moreBlog
How to Own Your Identity in the Age of AI
RSL Human Consent Standard, a free public registry, launches this month. It allows anyone to protect their name, image, voice, or creative work from being used by AI. RSL Media is the nonprofit behind this…Read more
Lessons About Digital Discretion from Jeffrey Epstein's Emails
Much of the coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein files has focused on who knew what, and when. But buried inside thousands of pages of correspondence is a quieter lesson — one that applies not just…Read more
What Jeffrey Epstein's Online Reputation Campaign Reveals About the Dark Side of ORM
The newly released Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein contain something that should concern every executive, communications professional, and anyone who relies on their established name to do business: a detailed, years-long record of a…Read more
Why I Wrote "Reputation Reboot" for the AI Era
Today, when someone wants to know who you are, they may not Google you at all. They may ask ChatGPT. Or Perplexity. Or Microsoft Copilot. And whatever those AI platforms surface about you—accurate or not—becomes…Read more
Expert Defamation Witness Shannon Wilkinson on Social Media Risk
I’m proud to have been featured as an expert in Interfor International’s recent blog post on social media risk management. In today’s digital landscape, the intersection of online behavior and reputation has never been more…Read more
Your Reputation Is Currency
Global communications strategist Maha Abouelenein recently appeared on “Her Money with Jean Chatzky” to discuss a powerful truth: your reputation functions as actual currency in today’s professional world. With over 30 years advising Fortune 500…Read moreAdvice
Reputation Reboot addresses real-life online reputation management (ORM) challenges faced by CEOs, executives, VIPs and their organizations. Unless they are public figures, their names and related descriptions of all individuals and companies discussed are changed to protect their privacy. For a quick look at the types of situations facing many professionals, scroll down and check out the headlines.
Did You Know?
Online reputation management enables you to take more ownership over what appears about you on the Internet.
Without it, the world controls how you look online.
Here are ten examples of the ways online reputation management is used by individuals, companies and organizations.
To ensure up-to-date and accurate information dominates search results for an organization or individual’s name.
To ensure that factual, credible reference material is readily available online.
That reduces the chance that fraudulent information will impact a brand.
To remove unwanted or inappropriate information, photographs or other content from the first few pages of Google search results.
To monitor social media and online forums for red flags signaling potential on- and offline threats against high-profile individuals and their organizations.
To create a strong online presence about a topic.
That presence acts as a barrier against potential distortions from third-party content, including anonymous and defamatory material. Without it, such items can go straight to the top of searches – and stay.
To ensure that your story is told by you and not by former partners or other potentially biased parties.
To establish a reputation within your area of expertise on multiple online platforms.
To create an online legacy for a VIP who is preparing for retirement or to exit an organization.