Although the internet bestows a lot of boons, it is also fragile. Anybody can – even anonymously – post a stray negative comment about you or your business and it can spell disaster.
It is therefore critically important that you check the search engines regularly for what is mentioned about you online. A periodic digital clean-up is imperative if you wish to safeguard your online reputation.
In fact, every sensitive detail of your personal information, your age, address, even income may be available online.
Everything that is posted about us online, whether by someone else, can be preserved. Negative reviews of a business can dominate search results and ruin your future sales. Make sure that your online reputation is clean and work for you and not against you or your business.
Cleaning your digital reputation is an ongoing process and for this you should set up Google Alert. Every time there is a mention about you or your business online, you will receive an alert through e-mail.
Protecting and preserving online reputations have today become a booming business. There is a new breed of hybrid technology/public relations companies called online reputation managers. They act like a digital clean up team, burying negative search results about you or your business, and highlighting the positive reviews.
Online reputation is critically important and if you cannot regularly clean up your digital reputation, it is saner to hire a professional agency to do the job. This way, you can make sure that what you want to see about yourself online is what appears when people search for you.
Many digital reputation management agencies have seen their business explode over the past few years. We are living in the information age and all information about you and your brand – good or bad – travels thick and fast.
Digital reputation management is not a service reserved for highflying CEOs or celebrities and public figures. In fact every one of us need to have a clean online history. Digital reputation is not only about cleaning up the negative comments. An overwhelming positive online reputation can create significant opportunities for you – be it in your job search or business campaigns.
Make sure your social media profile comes across as positive. In fact, a 2009 study for Microsoft found that more than 65% of the US hiring personnel surveyed said they rejected candidates based on information they found online. Again, 84% said a positive online reputation influenced their hiring decision to a considerable degree.