Here is a selection of Case Studies relating to each of the three main online reputation problems and their solutions.
Retirement Home Case Study - Passive/Defensive Reputation Management
Manufacturing Company Case Study - Active/Defensive Reputation Management
Financial Services Case Study - Protective Reputation Management
Online Reputation Case Study: Retirement Home
An example of RipOffReport Removal for a retirement community.
The Retirement Community project was a good example of a Passive/Defensive Reputation Management program. The program was initiated because an unknown (anonymous) online reputation assailant had posted negative (and untrue) information on a site called RipOffReport.com. RipOffReport is a website that anyone can use to post defamatory information about anyone else anonymously. Because of the popularity of the site, and it's high Google Page Rank, postings to RipOffReport tend to rise quickly in search results. Our client had a negative Rip Off Report posting in the number two position of a Google search for their name - just below the listing for the clients website. The opportunity loss for our client was significant.
Our first step was to find the problematic key phrases, and alternative versions of those key phrases. We ran tests using Google keyword tools as well as other software to locate the key phrases most damaging to the clients online reputation. Because the client was specific to a geographic location, we used variations of the location name as well including city and state (and various spellings and abbreviations).
Having created a list of appropriate key phrases, we rated the key phrases according to the number of searches made monthly for each. The list was prioritized from most damaging to their reputation to least damaging. Resource application (content creation and other aspects of Reputation Management) was prioritized accordingly.
While there existed a large amount of information about the retirement community, it was mostly neutral in nature. Our objective was not merely to suppress the Rip Off Report posts, but to replace them with content that was glowing in nature (and of course true). We created five websites, ten profiles, video, press releases, articles and other types of online content based on a customized reputation content plan.
Web content was introduced gradually using different domain ownership and geographically diverse hosting environments. Profiles were written and differentiated from each other. Content was then systematically optimized for search engines and select content was interlinked.
Within six months the RipOffReport.com post was driven back to page seven in search results. Opportunity loss due to the effective removal of Rip Off Report was eliminated enabling an increase in revenues.
Online Reputation Case Study: Manufacturing Company
An example of a solution we provided for a manufacturing client experiencing active negative press in multiple places.
Our client is a manufacturing firm that creates tools for machining. This high-profile company has reached a level of maturity and success where the emergence of online detractors is inevitable. Small missteps take on the aspect of mountainous problems as competitors and sensationalists focus only on the negative (because it sells newspapers).
The problems this firm faced were enormous. 90% of the first page of Google search results was negative and 80% of the second page. Their online reputation problems included multiple incidences of negative journalism, negative blog comments, negative YouTube comments, and more. The less than flattering content was refreshed regularly due to the high-profile nature of the company.
We informed the company that a 100% solution was most likely not possible, then got to work on damage control. Our first objective was to ascertain the keywords most problematic to their internet reputation. The list was narrowed to five key phrases that were identified as highest priority. These keyphrases raised negative search results in Sports Illustrated, blogs, online newspapers, and other popular online web destinations.
We then created a one-year online reputation management plan with the primary objective of first page dilution. The plan contained a list of existing positive content, new content such as websites, blogs, articles, YouTube and MetaCafe videos, and press releases timed to be released at specific intervals.
A content plan was created and approved by the client and content execution began. Search engine submissions and aggressive search engine optimization helped boost the relevance of the existing and created content. First page search results began to change after only two weeks. Our success has been measured by the percentage of first page dominance we have helped our client achieve. In less than six months we had achieved 80% positive domination of the first page of search engine results. At times we have achieved 100% however new negatives are constantly being created by major online properties and must be diluted and pushed off.
Online Reputation Case Study: Financial Services
An example of preventative reputation management.
We were commissioned to provide preventative online reputation management to improve search results relating for a specific executive. The issue wasn't one of negative search results, but of positive search results such as articles, press releases, websites and online profiles coming up in searches but not on page one. The project was to improve the online perception of an already excellent reputation by moving positive press to the forefront.
Our first step was to ascertain the relevant key phrases often entered into Yahoo, Google, or Bing for this person. We found the primary key phrase and variations of that keyphrase. We found geo-specific variations of the key phrase as well as company specific variations. This list was then measured against actual search results, rarely used search phrases were discarded. Ultimately, we'd compiled an approved list to move forward with.
The next step involved identification of positive web content already being returned in search results. The executives search result resume was already significant, but positive search results were overwhelmed by neutral ones on the first page of search results. We targeted twenty positive results that met certain techican and content criteria. With the key phrase list and content list in hand, we moved to the next phase.
We created a few key 'hub' web destinations with highly relevant domain names including online profiles in places like spoke.com and linkedin.com as well as standalone web sites. We used these hub pages to create content, as well as a 'relevancy network' - a network of links that tied relevant web content in diverse locations together. This inter-linking program was then augmented by search engine optimization intended to significantly boost the perceived relevance of each of the web destinations we had created.
The search engine optimization program was expanded to include positive search results already in existence. These included papers written by the executive, articles co-authored, press releases, quotes, and other favorable content.
The program began to bear fruit within 30 days and continued to improve over a period of fourteen months. The first pages of Google, Yahoo, and Bing have been significantly re-engineered to reflect the most positive content related to the executive. Now, when a journalist, investor, or other interested party performs due diligence or other research on the company or executive, the content first seen is controlled.