If you’re trying to get rid of bad reviews or remove news articles from Google, you may only have one true option: push down negative search results with ORM. This strategy involves a number of tactics, and each provides an important piece of the online reputation puzzle.
1. Formulate a strategy to shift the narrative
The first step to bury negative search results is to develop a reputation management strategy. The most effective plans require a dedicated team of experts across several disciplines to monitor and scour your search engine results for vulnerabilities and opportunities.
ORM strategy requires a lot of resources to find key areas for growth, while also targeting negative search results to sink them to the bottom of the SERPS. This strategy must be built upon the efforts of a tightly integrated team of SEO analysts, digital marketing strategists, content editors, outreach specialists to build backlinks, and project managers.
2. Optimize your primary website
It may seem like a given, but digital marketing strategies often fail to consider ORM when optimizing domain names and web pages. Most business owners are more focused on non-branded SEO than reputation. And, although they share many commonalities, there are some key differences when optimizing a website to rank well for branded searches. For example, you’ll need to:
- Optimize page titles and meta descriptions for your brand name
- Optimize a web page on your site for reviews if you sell products and services
- Create and optimize content to rank for other branded search queries
3. Build out additional web properties
There are often 10 listings on the first page of Google. So, it’s going to take much more than one website and a Twitter account to push down negative search results. Almost every business needs multiple web properties in order to effectively suppress negative search results and boost positive brand awareness. Owning the content within these websites also guarantees that it will be favorable and promote the ideas you want customers to see.
Satellite website ideas include a charity, a corporate social responsibility initiative, subdomains, microsites for promotions, or even a blog. Here are a few examples of branded domains by Starbucks:
- https://www.starbucks.com/
- https://www.starbucksforlife.com/
- https://www.starbucksreserve.com/en-us
- https://starbucks.popsugar.com/
4. Establish an active presence on social media sites
Many C-Suite executives are extremely busy and do not have the time or resources necessary to manage numerous social media accounts. Between Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and LinkedIn alone, it can take hours of time to monitor each profile for appropriate user engagement. However, social media accounts are a key part of your reputation management solution.
Claim and optimize your profiles. And actively post and engage with customers and thought leaders within your industry. This means regular tweets and other posts!
5. Publish highly-targeted, optimized, quality content
Google’s algorithm continuously crawls the internet in search of fresh content to satisfy searchers’s needs. The search engine then indexes and organizes content around entities and topics. The more content Google discovers around a specific topic, the more likely it is to see that subject as relevant. Therefore Google will continue to serve that content — whether you like it or not.
Your best line of defense is to produce highly-targeted, optimized content to shift the narrative in your favor. However, it’s not as easy as it may seem. If you make the wrong decisions, you could unintentionally put your finger on the wrong side of the scale, making it even harder to suppress negative search results.
6. Optimize press releases
Press release optimization is another important reputation management tactic. Knowing what kind of content is newsworthy and promotable is a highly-specialized skill. This is especially true when it comes to crafting press releases after a crisis or unfavorable, viral news cycle. But, it’s equally important to make sure press releases are optimized to rank for your brand in Google.
7. Identify and boost favorable content through SEO
The final step to suppress negative search results involves scouring the search engine landscape for every possible opportunity to promote your company or personal brand. We map out up to 500 positions when building an ORM strategy for our customers. Content may include positive reviews, news articles, ally partnerships, or other written content that accurately reflects the character of your business and executives. This type of work is often referred to as SEO reputation management.
Because new sites and content continue to pop up in the SERPS, this is an on-going process that requires a keen eye. Therefore, you’ll need a seasoned SEO analyst to perform the necessary research.
It takes time to bury negative search results — start now
Unwanted online content doesn’t just vanish with time. You must take action if you want to bury negative search results. But it’s also important to take the right approach. Cheap and dirty smokescreen tactics may seem budget-friendly, but they rarely work. In fact, they can often cause bigger problems down the road. Learn more about our white glove online reputation management services.
Your clients, partners, future employees, and loyal customers all rely on Google to tell them how to conduct business and where to spend their money.
We ensure they find favorable content that promotes a solid, long-lasting relationship with you and your company. We work in partnership with you to craft the narrative that tells your story the best.
Contact us today to take control of your search results.