While the types of negative content attacks can vary widely and require a response tailored to meet the specifics of the situation, there are several actions an online reputation management company can take which can be applied to minimize the damage in most cases.

They are:

1) Creating micro-sites – The amount of micro-sites needed will vary by the size of the attack. Optimized for specific keywords related to the attack, these mini-sites should consistently be populated with fresh, relevant content to improve rankings on the search engines. Highly relevant outbound links will drive traffic to, and help with ratings for, associated sites. Social media links and components can also be added.

2) Blogging – Blogs can be set up as part of the existing and new micro-sites or initiated in existing blog communities like WordPress, Google’s “Blogger”, and LiveJournal. Like the mini-sites, blogs should be refreshed with fresh content regularly to satisfy the search engines. This can require some time consuming maintenance which can be outsourced through your reputation management company, if necessary.

3) Press releases – Great for getting your company’s positive developments out in front of consumers and a terrific online reputation management tool, press releases can be sent out through BusinessWire or PRlog.com and can also be archived to  provide fresh content for your sites.
4) Articles – Getting positive articles out and seen by people searching for your selected keywords works both for marketing and brand management. There are numerous programs now which exist solely for the purpose of submitting articles to various media networks, which can generate traffic to the sites linked through each article.

5) Enhancing your site’s authority with relevant inbound links – Traffic coming in through relevant links is an extremely valuable component in all the ranking algorithms of the major search engines. It’s extremely time-consuming but well worth it in the long run.

6) Monitoring – If your company is under attack, a monitoring system will allow you to track where new negative content is being posted so that it can be countered immediately by you or your reputation management company. 

7) Develop a presence on appropriate social media sites – Consumers are increasingly relying on their social media circles for research into companies, products, and services. For the purpose of efficiency, make sure that the sites on which you’re developing a presence match the demographic for your products and services.

While each process is a relative straight-forward one, they all must be undertaken with the highest degree of professionalism and commitment to fully minimize the potential damage from an attack. Due to the requirements of time and experience to counter this type of content, a growing number of companies are employing the services of firms which specialize in online reputation management services. For a free initial consultation on protecting your company’s most valuable asset, call Reputation Management LLC today at (866) 530 7703.