Creating a strong online presence for your business is more than merely adding SEO tactics to your website. Your website needs constant updates of information such as content and social media platforms. Online presence management includes the following:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Web design and development
- Reputation management
- Social media marketing
- Paid advertising or pay-per-click (PPC) management
- Link building
- Blogging
- Content marketing
- Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
- Mobile web presence management
This is where online presence management has emerged as a growing need — especially for professionals.
Need for Online Web Presence Management
When searching your business name in a search engine, you will notice multiple results come up, including your competitors. Often, the search results will include websites where others have mentioned your business name such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and similar sites where your brand name has a strong presence. If people talk about you — positively or otherwise — these mentions of your name can also find their way into the search results for your brand. When the remarks are positive, your presence is good; however, when negative mentions happen and appear in search results, they can severely damage your online reputation.
What is Online Presence Management?
Online presence management is a systematic process of monitoring your brand reputation online. Monitoring includes watching for potentially damaging posts, proactively addressing issues, and dissipating negative sentiment before it snowballs into a bad reputation. Online presence management ensures your online reputation does not get tarnished by a negative statement.
How to Manage Online Presence
There are some measures you can take to manage your online reputation and presence. Here are a few things to do on a regular basis:
1. Monitor search results:
Once or twice a month, check the results on the first two pages of the major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, and Bing) for your brand name. Look at which websites and pages come up, see what is said on those pages to make sure there is no negative sentiment that can hurt your reputation.
2. Set up alerts:
Another way to monitor your brand is to set up alerts (like Google Alerts) for your brand name. Try different versions — with and without hyphens or misspellings. This way, whenever your brand name is mentioned anywhere online, you would get an alert and check for any negative statements mentioned.
3. Be proactive:
If you encounter a negative sentiment in any of the mentions, do not ignore it as an isolated occurrence. This is when customer support needs to be proactive. At the very minimum you would earn the reputation for addressing the concerns of unhappy customers. Ignoring a dissatisfied customer symbolizes arrogance and an uncaring attitude that can hurt your reputation.
4. Be honest:
In addressing concerns, avoid making false claims or becoming defensive. It is best to be honest and sensitive towards the dissatisfied customers issues.
5. Respect:
Another important aspect of online presence management is to respect those who talk about you. This includes those who spread negative sentiment. No one likes a high and mighty attitude and it can only add fuel to the fire. A sensitive and honest person/brand that respects the online audience will go a long way to build a positive reputation online.
6. Work with professionals:
If you feel things are getting out of hand or if your attempts at honest and respectful response to bad comments fuels them instead of calming them, you should seek the help of professionals in online presence management.
One of the most important things to remember is that social media can build and hurt your reputation. It is better to NOT be present in the social media world than to have a negative social media presence.
Professional Web Design Services from Flying Cow Design
Flying Cow Design has a track record of over 20 years of professional web design and online presence management. What differentiates us from most web design companies is that our focus is not only on web design but on building a strong online presence for our clients. Understanding the changing web development standards and search engine guidelines has helped us build a strong web presence for our clients through a combination of our web design and internet marketing services. To see how we can help you build a strong web presence, contact us today!
CEO, Flying Cow Design
Attended University of Auckland
Lives in San Francisco Bay Area
