This post comes from our Reputation Channel sponsor WebiMax.

As online marketers, we celebrate the application of SEO. Quality, search engine optimization tactics help align a brand’s Web pages with particular keywords and phrases. However, the steady process takes time to solidify. A brand may benefit, perhaps reaching some goals more quickly, by engaging in other areas of online marketing. SEO unites user queries with a brand; a diligent brand executive can do the same. Consider the following ways to accelerateyour brand and online reputation.

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Amazon should be pretty happy with the results from the, get ready because this is a mouthful, National Retail Federation Foundation / American Express Customers’ Choice Awards. In the age where reputation can make or break your operation Amazon and its subsidiary, Zappos, took 1st and 3rd place respectively. Of course, one has to assume that these results were arrived at before Zappos had their own brush with a potential reputation crusher of being hacked over this past weekend.

Here are the Top 10

1. Amazon.com
2. L.L.Bean
3. Zappos
4. Overstock.com
5. QVC
6. Kohl’s Department Stores
7. Lands’ End
8. JCPenney
9. Newegg
10. Nordstrom

70% of consumers said they wouldn’t buy a product from a company they didn’t like.

That may sound like I’m stating the obvious, but let’s run with it for a moment.

The statement comes from a new Weber Shandwick report called “The Company behind the Brand: In Reputation We Trust.” The report is focused on big companies with multiple brands, but the information is just as relevant for the small business owner.

The overall concept is that folks are getting pickier about where they spend their money. A great product won’t woo them, if the company behind the product can’t be trusted.

Trust means different things on different levels. For big corporations, it might mean a company that is concerned about the environment, cares about its customers and makes good when a product goes bad.

We hear so much about social media. It’s the this and the that and all things in between of business. You can reach more, do more sell more, relate more etc.etc etc. It’s hard to argue this line of thinking. It makes sense and it is real but is it overshadowing what appears to be a much bigger concern which is less sexy but possibly much more important which is the security of the online space?

Earlier we talked about the security breach at Zappos that exposed millions of Zappos customers account information (supposedly not credit card info but time will tell). As Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh put it

“We’ve spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand, and trust with our customers,” Mr. Hsieh said. “It’s painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident.”

If there is one organization that is usually held up as the poster child for how you should run an online company (or any compnay at all for that matter) it is Zappos. CEO Tony Hsieh gets interviewed it seems like on a daily basis to discuss the best practices that the online shoe and clothing selling machine uses to run its operation. Not the least of which is their laser beam focus on customer service as noted in their logo on the web site.

Well, as is usually the case in business and in life, it looks easy when everything is flying along just fine but when something goes terribly wrong that is the real measure of a company or organization. Today it is Zappos turn to be tested. The company’s systems were compromised over the weekend and according to TechCrunch

Last week Andy Beal blogged about the latest stupid human trick performed by a food chain employee which has caused an online reputation issue. This time it was Papa John’s. It appears as if pizza chains (remember the Domino’s incident?) have trouble hiring minimum wage workers with any scruples.

The long and short of the story is that a Papa John’s employee in NYC was stupid enough to use a racial slur to describe a customer. It’s not like they just said something either. Rather this employee (who has since been fired) decided to immortalize their ignorance by adding the customer description to a field that appears on the customer receipt. Boy, if there wasn’t morons out there like this we may not have anything to write about, would we?!

Here is the receipt from a CNN story about Papa John’s apology.

People say they want something new and different, but the truth is, we gravitate toward old, familiar images and brands. Sometimes these brands return with a clever, modern update (Can you say, “Old Spice.”) Other times, it’s just the mere reminder of why we loved them in the first place that makes us a fan all over again.

Forbes has just released their list of brands they expect to make a comeback in 2012. Let’s take a look and see if you agree.

The Muppets

This one is a no-brainer, since they’re already on the upswing. Back in November, The Muppets released a new movie which, ironically, was all about them making a comeback. Since then, Kermit and friends have been popping up everywhere, reigniting original fans and bringing in a new, teen audience.