Ever heard of online reputation management (ORM)?
In SEO marketing, ORM is about monitoring and improving your business’s online reputation.
Think about how your customer will perceive your brand before they fill out a web form, give you a ring, or reach out to you individually. What will they find when they look for you on Google? Will they like your current brand presence or not? All this is a part of your online reputation!
It helps you decide whether your brand works in your favor or against you.
Does ORM Impact Digital Marketing?
The short answer is YES.
Do you know 95% of customers check and read online reviews before purchasing a product? Almost 81% are likely to go through Google Reviews before interacting with a physical business. It’s how digital marketing works, and if your company is not appearing in the limelight, there’s a high chance you’re not getting a well-deserved exposure online. A positive online presence makes your business go a long way, while a negative review tarnishes your online reputation eventually.
How Do I Find My Reputation Digitally?
First, you must consider how your online life is passing.
Customers often judge you based on what they find about your business on Google.
Almost 95% of customers read stuff online and rely more on reviews from Google Reviews than on visiting physical business locations. When they search for your business online, they get different feelings based on what’s been put out there. You must check whether the stuff circulating in the market is good or bad. Believe it or not, a negative online presence can severely impact your digital standings. Whether you’re closing a business deal, sealing away a partnership, or talking to a reporter about your brand, your online reputation plays a crucial & central role.
Here are a few things you need to address when considering online reputation management:
- Does your business name appear in the first five listings?
If not, then you need to work on your search rankings.
- Are the reviews posted about your business positive or negative?
Not everyone’s a happy customer; if you’re on Google, you must leave a maximum number of positive impressions.
- Did you put in thought leadership or bring in industry expertise?
You need published blogs, honorary mentions on news websites, and guest posts.
- ORM fires? You will need to manage that.
It could be anything, from a pissed off ex-employee or a customer leaving a bad review on Glassdoor or LinkedIn, to legal troubles your brand might have faced digitally.
How to Fix My Online Reputation?
Check Your Google Business Profile
You can start by analyzing your Google Business Profile.
Check whether your Google Business Profile exists or not. If there’s a Google Business Profile, you can always check the information to see whether it’s accurate. You can also double-check your name on the profile and confirm your existing address, phone number, or open hours.
Check Your Socials
You can also check your brand’s existing social channels.
- Are there enough followers on each of your social media platforms?
- Check when the last time you posted was. Is your social media team consistently posting?
- How about messages? What’s the average response time?
- Check if what you’re posting is accurately relevant and if it reflects your brand.
- Search for hashtags, and search for locations where your brand name is appearing.
- Are people really talking about you and your business? If so, are they talking positively?
- Are there negative mentions? If so, what are you doing to resolve them?
- See how many fans are coming to your brand’s defense?
Check Your Online Reviews
You can check for reviews from different online review websites.
Start with Google Reviews and see how many positive and negative reviews you have received. If the positive review ratio is better to negative reviews comparatively, then it’s a good sign. Otherwise, you will to make sure your positive reviews are at least 3 times better than your negative reviews. This way, you will create a more authentic and trustworthy online presence.
Another place you can look for is Facebook ratings/reviews. Check if customers are recommending your Facebook page and whether your team is positively responding to such posts.
You can also check review websites like Angi, Yelp, and TrustPilot. See if you’ve received positive reviews and recommendations on these websites. Search for your brand name & observe how many positive stars you have collected. Also check Glassdoor.com and LinkedIn. These popular job postings and professional networking sites can also offer better insight. Many present and past employees searching for you online will check your reputation on these channels.
What to Do If My Online Reputation Requires Improvement?
Begin with Claiming Everything
Check the search results and see if your content is relevant in different places.
You can start by claiming your business on Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, and other social sites.
You can also check on Yelp, Citysearch, Local.com, YP.com, and LinkedIn.
Find out whether your profile exists on TikTok, Snapchat, and other places. Ensure your digital presence isn’t mixed up with different digital entities so your customers aren’t mistaken.
Monitor Your Online Reputation
If your reputation is under fire, setting up online monitors is the best way to prevent it.
Set up Google Alerts for your company’s name, check key executives and products/services. Investing in social listening tools is the best option when businesses are active on social media. It will help you digitally monitor everything being said about you and your business in real-time.
Work on Team Empowerment
You can also work on developing a strong social media presence for your founders and key players within the organization. Many organizations are defined by the individuals who work there.
It’s not uncommon for the public to search for these people. For example, some renowned people who have become brand names often perform their roles in brand empowerment.
Increase Your Search Rankings
Search rankings are also highly important for maintaining a good online reputation.
You can start by checking your SEO rankings.
There are plenty of things you can do to increase your SEO rankings such as on-page optimization, off-page implementations and technical SEO services to ensure your website remains on top in SERPs. You can also work on your content strategy, and start publishing blogs constantly.
Having no such practices in place can often lead to decline in domain authority. And your website doesn’t appear in searches for particular keywords leading to potential brand degradation.
Conclusion
Your online reputation isn’t just a reflection of your brand—it’s the deciding factor between gaining or losing a customer. In today’s digital-first world, ignoring ORM is like handing the narrative of your business to chance. Whether it’s securing positive reviews, cleaning up search results, or amplifying your brand’s voice, every action matters. If you’re ready to take control and build a reputation that wins trust, Rank Hive is here to help.
Let’s shape a powerful online presence together—[Get Your Free Reputation Audit Today!]
