Google Gives a Thumbs-up to Reputation Management

Friday, October 16th, 2009 by Andy Beal

Google Gives a Thumbs-up to Reputation Management

It’s a good day for reputation management consultants everywhere–we just got Google’s official endorsement!

Yep, Google has come off the fence and wholeheartedly endorsed the creation of positive web content to try and outrank anything negative. In the Google post, the search engine does an admirable job of creating a primer for Google Reputation Management which includes this endorsement of creating positive web pages:

Instead, you can try to reduce its visibility in the search results by proactively publishing useful, positive information about yourself or your business. If you can get stuff that you want people to see to outperform the stuff you don’t want them to see, you’ll be able to reduce the amount of harm that that negative or embarrassing content can do to your reputation.
(emphasis Google’s)

Of course, this isn’t ground breaking in any way–Google also offers advice for SEO, although just as basic–but it’s nice to see Google giving the green light to online reputation management campaigns. I wonder how much of the impetus for this post came from all of the content removal requests Google gets each day.

PS. Once you’ve read Google’s reputation management advice, you can check out my Google reputation management tips here and don’t forget I have tons of this stuff in my book Radically Transparent!

Social Media Monitoring in Just 60-Seconds. Guaranteed!

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11 comments on “Google Gives a Thumbs-up to Reputation Management”

Roy Morejon Says:

October 16th, 2009 at 10:41 am

a good day for reputation management consultants indeed…
Roy Morejon´s last blog ..What Open Source Means to Social Media
Michael Martinez Says:

October 16th, 2009 at 1:14 pm

I like they are pushing Google profiles as a solution. Does that mean profiles will now rank in normal Web results on the first page or are they still relegated to the footer?
Michael Martinez´s last blog ..Another 20 Hard Core SEO Tips

Andy Beal Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
They are still–lamely–relegated to the footer.
Google Okay’s Reputation Management | searchEGO Says:

October 16th, 2009 at 4:02 pm

[...] Andy Beale over at Marketing Pilgrim just wrote an article describing Google’s position on reputation management. [...]
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach Says:

October 17th, 2009 at 6:18 am

I’m waiting for Google to declare itself The Force.
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog ..On what brand do YOU focus when you’re making money?
Google Gives a Thumbs-up to Reputation Management Says:

October 17th, 2009 at 11:40 am

[...] http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2009/10/google-gives-a-thumbs-up-to-re putation-management.html [...]
Oscar Del Santo Says:

October 17th, 2009 at 2:10 pm

Well, about time I say!
Oscar Del Santo´s last blog ..Graham Newey: ha nacido una estrella
Simon Says:

October 17th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

Thanky Nice Post
Data Quality Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 1:43 am

Interesting, seems like google has their hands in everything nowadays.
Data Quality´s last blog ..This is a test run – Data Advisor Week of May 03
Jim Edward Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 11:20 am

Thanks for your help and tools we really needed them because Google vastly underestimates what it takes to protect your reputation on their search engine
Jim Edward´s last blog ..Kip D. (5.0/5) on Yelp
Website Promotion Blog Says:

October 19th, 2009 at 2:55 pm

I believe the best practice will be to preemptively handle the reputation damage by some preventive measures instead of trying to outweigh the negative buzz against you.

Actually, it might be inevitable to face cases where your reputation is at stake and something unexpected happens to you. Then, Google’s post could help somewhat, but it’s only in the world of search engines, not social media. That’s something that requires different approach to outweigh your negative side by the positive aspects.
Website Promotion Blog´s last blog ..7 Tips on Preemptive Online Reputation Management