Free Online Reputation Checklist

Winning first-page search engine placement has become extremely valuable to both personal and corporate brands. Aside from offering great exposure to products and services, placement in the top 5 to 10 results of a search engine results page can have a tremendously positive impact on the online reputation of an individual or business.

Online users trust the results they receive when conducting searches in major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. It is implied that some of the brightest minds available today have judiciously thought through how to fairly organize and display relevant content.

When users online consistently see brands that show up on the first page of a search engine results page it builds a pattern of trust, confidence, and reliability not only with the search engine that is used but also with the websites, blogs, and content that is found.

The following statistics show tremendous support for the loyalty and trust that users online give to first page search engine rankings:

“81 percent of users find their destination through a search engine.”
– Jupiter Research

“Organic results in a search engine are 8.5 times more likely to be clicked on than an advertisement”.
– Enquisite

Let’s explore, and apply, what these statistics and trends may mean to the online reputation of an individual or company:

4 Point Online Reputation Checklist

1. Your Name or Company Name. Having ownership of your personal name and company name on the first page of major search engines is extremely important. Winning as much placement on the first page of a search engine results page helps to offset brand confusion and it increases visits to your website(s).
2. A Top Service or Product. Having your top company products and services available and visible to the market place in a major search engine is very important. Not being able to find or identify the pages on your website that correspond with these core offerings may also mean that potential customers experience the same issue.
3. The Competition. When your company name, personal name, top service offerings, or top products are searched in a major search engine competitor websites, blogs, and social media accounts may (or may not) be present in the first page search engine results.
4. Customer Names. When your personal name or corporate name is searched in a major search engine, customer names may be present in the search results from their online reviews and comments of their experiences with yourself and/or your company.

Important Questions to Ask…And Answer

Following your review, there are some important questions to ask, answer, and evaluate. Below are some important questions to consider, and, a scale with which you can grade your urgency and concern:

Q: How much does it concern me if my personal or corporate name is not found on the first page of search engine results?

Not at all     |     Somewhat     |     A lot

Q: How much does it concern me if my competition is found first when my personal or corporate name is searched in a major search engine?

Not at all     |     Somewhat     |     A lot

Q: How much does it concern me if my company product and service pages are not found on the first page of search engine results?

Not at all     |     Somewhat     |     A lot

Q: How much does it concern me if the names of my customers are found first when my personal or corporate name is searched in a major search engine?

Not at all     |     Somewhat     |     A lot

When to Seek Online Reputation Management Help

If you, or those within your organization, answered any 2 questions above with “somewhat” or “a lot” then we strongly recommend a confidential evaluation for your online personal or corporate reputation.