Search optimization is often an uphill challenge. Everyone wants high page rank and high online visibility, but this is not often the case. Competing for the internet users limited attention span requires a certain tech-savvy. You not only want the website to be bright and appealing in the eyes of the user, but you should also make the site very searchable so that it appears on the first page of Google.
Fair business practices are what drive healthy competition, but such offensive online content directed against you is simply hitting below the belt. Sure, slander and libel may sometimes be considered part and parcel of free speech, but that doesnt mean that you cant do anything about it.
Are you a victim of negative reviews because your company screwed up? Or are you a victim of malicious reviews posted online by a competitor? Customers often cant tell the difference. Search engines results can be manipulated. And if youre up against a competitor who wants to win by hook or by crook through slander and libel, you may find your brand completely wiped out someone who is posing as an unhappy customer all over the Internet.
Getting to the #1 spot is hard. Protecting yourself from defamation of character is much, much harder. Are you a victim of predatory online practices? Here are some things that you can do to manage your reputation online.
First, you can choose to ignore the negative reviews. People will forget about it tomorrow, right? Lets just hope that all the negativity will eventually blow over. Another option is to bring the offending parties to court for slander. Get immediate relief with a court order to take down the site and seek compensatory damages. Lastly, you can consider a more creative online reputation management tactic that will push the offensive sites down 4-10 pages in the search engine results through reputation online repair services.
Youre obviously not going to get any result in the first option. Even if you merely ignore them, most people could take the false claims against you to be truths. And much worse, they could interpret your passiveness as an admission of guilt. Youll not only come off as a sham, but youll also lose potential customers along the way.
What about litigation? The second option is the traditional big business way to scare website owners into pulling down content that is slanderous. For some websites, you will be able to get your way. For others, they will call your bluff and you will have to drag your butt to court. There are not only time and litigation expenses but it will also continue to take its toll on your brand because the content will not be pulled down immediately. In fact, you may have to wait until the court decides in your favor so you might as well just go ahead and do search engine reputation management.
Nothing beats proactive and aggressive counter-action to neutralize malicious online slander. Brand protection is as much a basic marketing function as advertising and promotions, whether online or offline. Doing so online will often require the right SEO professionals to manage online reputation.
Removing sociopathic ex-employee out of cyberspace. Get a FREE slander and defamation anaysis immediately by calling (800) 825-9500.