Key Reputation Management Strategies for Law Firms

Generate Content Marketing

Demonstrate your legal expertise by regularly producing high-quality, relevant content. Blog posts, articles, and case studies not only showcase your knowledge but also help improve your firm’s search engine visibility. This not only enhances your reputation but also positions your firm as an authority in your practice areas.

Creating valuable and engaging content for your law firm’s blog can help you establish authority in your field, attract potential clients, and provide helpful information. Here are some content ideas for your law firm’s site:

1. Legal Guides and How-Tos: Create comprehensive guides on common legal issues your clients may face. Break down complex legal processes into step-by-step instructions to help your audience better understand their situations.
2. Legal News and Updates: Stay current with legal news and share updates on changes in laws or regulations that may impact your clients. Interpret these changes in a way that’s easy for your audience to understand.
3. FAQs: Compile a list of frequently asked questions related to your practice areas and provide detailed answers. This can help address common concerns.
4. Employee Spotlights: Introduce your team members through employee spotlights. Share their expertise, experiences, and how they contribute to the success of your law firm.

Remember to tailor your content to your specific audience and to keep it informative, relevant, and engaging. Regularly updating your blog with fresh content can also help improve your website’s search engine rankings.

Activate Social Media Engagement

Maintaining an active and engaging presence on social media platforms is crucial for staying connected with your audience. Share legal insights, participate in relevant discussions, and address inquiries promptly. Social media is a valuable tool for humanizing your firm and showcasing the people behind the legal expertise.

Activating social media for your law firm can be a valuable strategy to increase visibility, engage with potential clients, and showcase your expertise. Here are six steps to help you effectively activate social media for your law firm:

1. Choose the Right Platforms: Identify the social media platforms that align with your target audience. For law firms, platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are often relevant. Instagram can also be effective for visual content, and YouTube is great for video content.
2. Create Professional Profiles: Ensure that your social media profiles are complete, professional, and consistent with your law firm’s branding. Use high-quality images and a comprehensive bio that highlights your expertise.
3. Content Strategy: Develop a content strategy that focuses on providing valuable information to your audience. Once you’re creating the content mentioned above, be sure to share that on your social channels. This content demonstrates your expertise and helps meet your audience where they are at.
4. Engage with Your Audience: Social media is about building relationships. Respond promptly to comments, direct messages, and mentions. Engage with your audience by asking questions, conducting polls, and encouraging discussions.
5. Consistent Posting Schedule: Maintain a consistent posting schedule to keep your audience engaged. Use scheduling tools to plan and automate posts, but also be responsive to real-time events and discussions.
6. Participate in Legal Conversations: Join legal discussions and participate in relevant conversations within your industry. This can help you connect with peers and potential clients and stay updated on industry trends.

Social media for law firms requires a balance between professionalism and approachability. By consistently providing valuable content and engaging with your audience, you can successfully activate social media for your law firm.

Monitor Online Reviews

Regularly monitor online review platforms such as Google, Yelp, and industry-specific review sites. Respond promptly and professionally to both positive and negative reviews. Addressing negative feedback demonstrates accountability and a commitment to client satisfaction. 

Encourage clients to share their positive experiences to counterbalance any negativity. The first and most important profile to claim and build out is your Google My Business Profile. Optimizing your Google Business Profile for your law firm is crucial for attracting potential clients and improving your online visibility. Here are some tips to help you optimize your Google Business Profile:

1. Complete Your Profile: Ensure that all sections of your Google Business Profile are filled out completely. Include your law firm’s name, address, phone number, website, services, business hours, and a brief but informative business description.
2. Choose the Right Categories, Photos, and Keywords: Select the most relevant categories for your law firm. This helps Google understand your business and display it in relevant search results. Add high-resolution images of your law firm, including the exterior, interior, and team photos. Visual content can make your profile more appealing and trustworthy. Use relevant keywords in your business description and throughout your profile. Think about what potential clients might be searching for when looking for a law firm like yours.
3. Collect and Showcase Reviews: Encourage satisfied clients to leave positive reviews on your Google Business Profile. Respond to reviews, both positive and negative, professionally and promptly. This can build credibility and trust.
4. Utilize Engagement Features: Turn on messaging to allow potential clients to reach out to you directly through Google and respond promptly to inquiries to demonstrate responsiveness. Use the “Posts” feature to share updates, news, or any events related to your law firm. This keeps your profile active and engages potential clients. Monitor and respond to questions in a Q&A section. Addressing common queries can provide helpful information to potential clients.
5. Utilize Google My Business Insights: Regularly review the insights provided by Google My Business. This data can help you understand how users are interacting with your profile and make informed decisions to improve it.

By implementing these tips, you can enhance your Google Business Profile and increase the likelihood of attracting potential clients searching for legal services in your area. Regularly update and monitor your profile to ensure it reflects the most accurate and current information about your law firm.

Share Client Testimonials and Case Studies

Encourage satisfied clients to share their positive experiences through testimonials and case studies. Genuine client feedback can be a powerful tool in building trust and credibility. Displaying success stories on your website can influence potential clients and counteract any negative reviews. Gaining more reviews for your law firm is important for building credibility and attracting potential clients. Here are some effective strategies to encourage more reviews:

1. Provide Excellent Service: The most natural way to receive positive reviews is by consistently providing excellent service to your clients. Satisfied clients are more likely to take the time to leave positive feedback.
2. Ask for reviews at the right time, and respond to all existing reviews: Don’t hesitate to ask satisfied clients to leave a review. You can do this in person, through follow-up emails, or even through a thank-you note. Make it easy for them by providing direct links to your Google Business Profile. Request reviews when the experience with your law firm is still fresh in clients’ minds. Ideally, ask for reviews shortly after successfully completing a case or providing a valuable service. Engage with clients who have already left reviews. Responding to positive reviews shows appreciation and may encourage others to leave feedback. Additionally, addressing concerns in negative reviews demonstrates your commitment to client satisfaction.
3. Use Email Campaigns: Incorporate review requests into your email marketing strategy. Include a call-to-action in your emails asking clients to share their experiences and provide a link to your Google Business Profile.
4. Create a Review Request Page on Your Website: Develop a dedicated page on your law firm’s website that guides clients through the review process on various platforms, including Google. Share this link with clients after their case has concluded.
5. Use Social Media: Leverage your law firm’s social media channels to request reviews. Share client testimonials and encourage others to share their experiences.
6. Educate Clients on the Importance of Reviews: Let your clients know that their reviews contribute to the success of your law firm and help others in their decision-making process. A brief explanation of the impact of reviews can encourage more clients to participate.

Remember to abide by ethical guidelines and the terms of service of review platforms, including Google, to ensure that your practices are in compliance. It’s crucial to maintain authenticity and avoid any attempts to manipulate or fake reviews.

Network & Join Online Communities

Build and nurture relationships within the legal community. Positive referrals from colleagues and peers can significantly enhance your firm’s reputation. Attend industry events, join legal associations, and actively participate in networking opportunities to establish a positive professional network. Consider updating and claiming a profile for your firm on the following platforms, which rank highly for many law firms:

1. FindLaw (findlaw.com): FindLaw is a comprehensive legal resource that provides information for both consumers and legal professionals. It covers a wide range of legal topics and offers a directory of lawyers.
2. Justia (justia.com): Justia provides legal information and resources for individuals, businesses, and legal professionals. It includes a lawyer directory, case law, and legal forms.
3. Martindale-Hubbell (martindale.com): Martindale-Hubbell is well-known for its lawyer directory and peer review ratings. It has been a trusted resource for finding legal professionals for many years.
4. Avvo (avvo.com): Avvo provides legal information, lawyer reviews, and a Q&A forum. It’s a platform that allows users to find and connect with lawyers.
5. American Bar Association (americanbar.org): The American Bar Association (ABA) is a professional organization for attorneys. Its website provides resources, publications, and information on legal issues.

Prepare a Crisis Management Plan

Develop a comprehensive crisis management plan to address any unforeseen challenges promptly. Being prepared allows your firm to respond quickly and effectively to mitigate potential damage. Identify potential risks and establish protocols for handling sensitive situations. Setting up a crisis management plan involves several key components to ensure that an organization can effectively respond to and navigate through a crisis. Here are the five key components:

1. Risk Assessment: Identify potential risks and threats that could lead to a crisis. Evaluate the likelihood and potential impact of each risk. Prioritize risks based on their severity and probability.
2. Crisis Team Formation and Communication Plan: Establish a dedicated crisis management team with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Develop a comprehensive communication strategy for internal and external stakeholders and draft templates for crisis communication messages.
3. Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Understand and comply with legal and regulatory requirements related to crisis management. Develop a strategy for managing legal and regulatory issues that may arise during a crisis.
4. Collaboration with External Agencies: Identify external organizations and agencies that may need to be involved in a crisis response. Establish communication and coordination protocols with these external entities.
5. Continuous Improvement: Establish a feedback loop for post-crisis analysis. Review and update the crisis management plan regularly based on lessons learned from drills and real incidents.

By addressing these components, organizations can create a comprehensive crisis management plan that enhances their ability to respond effectively to unexpected events. Regular testing, training, and updates are crucial to ensuring the plan remains relevant and efficient over time.

Conclusion 

Reputation management for law firms is an ongoing process that requires a proactive and multifaceted approach. By investing in a strong online presence, fostering positive client relationships, and staying engaged within the legal community, your firm can build and safeguard its reputation effectively. Embracing these best practices will not only attract new clients but also solidify your position as a trusted and respected legal entity.

Building and Safeguarding Your Legal Reputation: Best Practices for Law Firm Reputation Management is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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Why Is Personal Branding Important? 

The importance of personal branding depends on how an individual values their online reputation. For many, it’s important to build out a personal brand because it’s how you’re presenting yourself to the world. Everyone’s preconceptions of someone else are because of their own experiences in life so it’s different for everyone. The main point here is that like a job interview, putting your best self forward may just result in new opportunities, friends, and other connections. 

1. Securing your position online

The first two questions to ask yourself before securing your position are, who am I? And how do I poetry that? Let’s say you’re a lawyer who loves to do volunteer work for underprivileged communities. Knowing that this is the biggest part of your life, focus on building your profiles on platforms that are popular in this niche. This is how you can secure your position online, simply search terms that define you and the brand you’re trying to build upon and from here you will find new social media platforms, blogs, communities, etc. that you can join and get active on. 

2. Expanding your reach

Expanding your reach is a huge benefit of personal branding. By creating new profiles, and updating old ones to meet with what you’re trying to portray in the present, you not only allow yourself to meet new people in different communities, but you’re also able to find new resources in those as well. Let’s say you’re a school teacher and you did research into the best online math gaming platform for your students. The results could include finding the best resources as well as a new private Facebook group filled with other information to use as a resource. You may also stumble upon a new social media platform just for teachers like BetterLesson, which will expand your great reputation in your niche. 

3. Telling your story

The most exciting benefit of personal branding is to tell your story exactly how you want! You can do this by sharing photos on social media accounts or sharing your thoughts by creating a blog on a site like Medium. Regardless of where and how you want to share, other individuals will be able to engage with your thoughts and views. Depending on the niche that interests you, consider joining an online community that is interested in the same topics. This will help readers feel a sense of connection to you personally, which is great to expand your following. A professional who does a great job sharing her story is the CEO of a big swimwear brand, Devin Brugman. As you can see in her search results below, not only does she have her LinkedIn profile up to date so it ranks highly in her results, but she’s also worked with many news sites to expand her personal brand apart from her company as you can see from the Business Insider title. 

4. Gaining new knowledge

Another great benefit of personal branding is gaining new knowledge along the way. You might find new areas of interest when you stumble upon a new blog or news site. Engaging with new content may give you ideas on where you want to build out your brand next. Gaining knowledge helps you to become a leader that others in your niche may turn to when they have questions about a certain topic. Let’s pretend you’re the owner of an automobile repair shop, doing research to find new forums about things specific to a problem you have will make you the thought leader surrounding it for any concerns in the space. This would be crucial to spreading your great reputation because new customers will now trust you even more. 

5. Improved search results

Part of securing your position includes improving your search results. Perhaps your search results are already in a “good” place and have all positive sentiment, it’s a good opportunity to take advantage of this and build out random profiles about yourself to take up that real estate on your results page. On the other hand, if you know you have some unflattering content out there, it’s a good idea to expand your content before the negative sentiment becomes more of an issue for you. Consider submitting an interview to a site like Ideamensch, where you have full control of the narrative. Here’s another example of a CEO who took full advantage of building out their page search results with profiles and pages that are flattering to his own brand. We used the results from the CEO of Hello Fresh, Dominik Richter.

6. New engagements & opportunities

One of the best benefits of building out your brand is the new engagements and opportunities that present themselves because of the time you’ve put in. A great example could include the CEO of a fashion brand. The CEO wants to do something sustainable in fashion, by expanding their personal brand they can reach out genuinely to other sustainable fashion brands to do a collaboration for charity or something along those lines. Not only does this help with the cause that they care so much about, but it helps to build out their personal brand and reputation by showing the world what’s important to them personally. So many benefits could be built off of great action from a new opportunity like this, such as creating a new microsite, which again will secure your position and spread your brand awareness. Consider increasing your engagements on social media specifically LinkedIn to help build out these connections and opportunities. 

Many wonderful benefits come with personal brand building, as you can see. Being creative and unique when it comes to taking actionable steps to do this is key. Even if you’d rather be in the background instead of in the spotlight, every individual should stand out from the rest in some way. By taking the time to really research what’s out there as far as new profiles, information, blogs, news sites, forums, and other platforms, you will be able to feel more confident about your personal brand online. When you build your confidence and knowledge, you will love the results that include, organization, thought leadership, and a great reputation!

The 6 Benefits Of Personal Branding For Your Reputation With Examples is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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Know Your Role & Be Very Careful Requesting for Reviews

On Yelp you can create two different accounts, the most common being a personal Yelp user account, which anyone can create. The other account option is creating a business profile, which is exclusive to business owners. If you happen to be a business owner, it can be beneficial to have both a personal and business account. The reason for this is to simply get engaged and familiarize yourself with the platform. 

For the basic Yelp user account, adding as many details as possible will help you to stand out on the platform – I’ll tell you why that’s a good thing later on. Yelp requires a profile photo when you sign up, as well as your location. They also encourage you to add friends, add “things you love”, and other random facts about yourself. Just like any other social media platform, presenting yourself in a transparent way to others on Yelp will result in more friends and more engagements. 

For the Business Yelp account, the most important details to add to the page initially are location (adding your address), hours of operation  (be sure they are correct and match your other listings for every day of the week), and contact information (the correct phone number and email are super helpful to all customers). Once again, it’s important to present your business in the best light, which means including professional photos, not blurry photos taken by guests. Add as many other details as you can to the page. For example, if your business is a restaurant, be sure to add the menu, and highlight your most “popular” dishes. 

Now that you’ve signed up, start navigating the platform, visit other business pages and other user profiles to see how people leave reviews, and how you can engage with others.

Commonly we will have a client come to us asking to help improve their Yelp score on their business page. We of course assist them in all areas regarding Yelp while making sure they understand that Yelp does not support soliciting reviews, as you can read about here: Don’t Ask for Reviews | Support Center | Yelp. We like to help our clients have open conversations with their customers and vendors regarding Yelp. This in turn gets the client thinking about the platform and how they can use it in their personal lives. Adding these people as friends and liking their reviews is great engagement with the platform, which Yelp encourages! If you’re a business owner, showing clients and vendors that you yourself are a Yelp user, as well as giving them knowledge about the platform will get a conversation started, which is absolutely allowed without being pushy or encouraging them to review your page.

Understand Yelp’s Content Guidelines & Reasons a Review Can Be Flagged for Removal

Leaving and receiving reviews is why you’re a part of the platform. You will want to fully understand Yelp’s content guidelines and the reasons a review could be violating those. 

Yelp’s Content Guidelines

• Relevance: Please make sure your contributions are appropriate to the forum. For example, reviews aren’t the place for rants about political ideologies, a business’s employment practices, extraordinary circumstances, or other matters that don’t address the core of the consumer experience.

• Inappropriate content: Colorful language and imagery are fine, but there’s no place for threats, harassment, lewdness, hate speech, or other displays of bigotry.

• Conflicts of interest: Your contributions to Yelp should be unbiased and objective. For example, you shouldn’t write reviews of your own business or employer, your friends or relatives’ business, your peers or competitors in your industry, or businesses in your networking group. Businesses should never ask customers to write reviews.

• Privacy: Don’t publicize people’s private information. For instance, please don’t post close-up photos or videos of other patrons without their permission, and don’t post other people’s full names unless you’re referring to someone who is commonly referred to by their full name.

• Promotional content: Don’t post promotional material unless it’s in connection with a Yelp advertising product and through a Business Account. Let’s keep the site useful for consumers and not overrun with commercial noise from every user.

• Intellectual property: Don’t swipe content from other sites, users, or businesses. You’re a smart cookie, so write your own copy and share your own photos and videos.

• Personal experience: We want to hear about your first hand experience, not what you heard from your partner or co-worker, or what you saw in the news. Tell your own story without resorting to broad generalizations and conclusory allegations.

• Accuracy: Make sure your review is factually correct. Feel free to air your opinions, but don’t exaggerate or misrepresent your experience. We don’t take sides when it comes to factual disputes, so we expect you to stand behind your review.

• Demanding payment: Writing a review should be informative and meant to help the broader Yelp community. You should not threaten to post or offer to remove a negative review as a way to extract payment from a business.

• Review updates: Review updates should reflect a new experience or interaction with the business. Don’t keep posting about the same old story you’ve already told. If you’d like to add new insight to an old experience, you can edit your review within 30 days of posting it.

Reasons a Review Can be Flagged

• It contains false information

• It was posted by someone affiliated with the business

• It was posted by a competitor or ex-employee

• It contains threats, lewdness, or hate speech

• It doesn’t describe a personal consumer experience

• It violates Yelp’s privacy standards

• It contains promotional material

• It’s for the wrong business

• It represents an extraordinary circumstance (e.g. COVID-19, media-fueled)

The big takeaway from the guidelines above is that your profile is personal to you! There is no such thing as a family Yelp profile, as some people might have on Facebook. Leaving reviews on behalf of someone else can get your review removed from the platform or placed into Yelp’s filter, which I will detail below. Another rule to remember is to keep privacy in mind. For example, if you had a bad experience at a law firm, don’t go onto the platform and start listing off your lawyer’s full name and his office ID. Although you can get away with using a person’s full name within your review if they’re in a public-facing role, it’s important to not publicize people’s private information within a review.

Another way to contribute to the platform is by flagging reviews that violate the content guidelines. If someone starts a review by saying “My wife had an experience here the other day.”, this review should be flagged for removal, as that user is violating the guidelines by describing an experience that’s not personal to them. Other reviews that should be flagged include ones that contain threats, lewdness or hate speech. When you flag another user’s review, they do not get a notification that you did so, or that anyone did for that matter. The only time they would receive a notification is if the review was indeed removed from the platform. You can also report a user’s profile if you see that they’re violating Yelp’s content guidelines multiple times or something else that you believe doesn’t align with the guidelines. You simply click into that review’s profile page and scroll down under their profile picture where it says “Report this profile”. Click on that link and it will bring you to a page that will ask you the following: Please identify what’s inappropriate about this user profile: (e.g. profile photo, headline, spammer, etc.). You can also block a user if they’re making you feel uncomfortable in any way on the platform. Clicking “Block [user]” on their profile page will restrict the user from engaging with you and your reviews in any way.

Here are the simple steps to flagging a review:

1. Be sure the review actually violates one or more of Yelp’s content guidelines
2. Access the flag icon in the bottom right corner below the review, and click on it
3. Once the Pop-Up appears, “Why do you want to report this review?” then select one of the options
4. Next, type out your reasoning under, “Please provide specific details below:” and then click “Report”
5. You will receive an email with a review report ID number for your records
6. Then, over a period of time, which could be 1 day or 3 months down the road, Yelp will send a follow-up email telling you the status of the review and if they’ve decided to remove it or leave it live on the page

Engage with the Platform & Stay out of Yelp’s Filter

Engaging with the platform is very important if you want to see your reviews stay on the page for any business you left a review for. Many users and businesses don’t realize that Yelp has a filter where many reviews go when Yelp deems them as not fit to be on the page, and to contribute to the overall star rating for a business. Yelp has rebranded, and added a section that gives users details about their Automated Recommendation Software – also known as their filter. Every business page has one. On their support page, Yelp answers questions regarding the filter. These filtered reviews are placed at the bottom of the first page of reviews in small font titled “(number) other reviews that are not currently recommended”.  These are two blog posts written back in 2009 and 2010, which is an interesting comparison to the information we have access to now. 

Outdated Information about Yelp’s Filter:

• Why Yelp Has A Review Filter | Yelp – Official Blog
• Yelp’s recommendation software explained | Yelp – Official Blog 

Current Information about Yelp’s Automated Recommendation Software:

• What is Yelp’s recommendation software? | Support Center 
• Automated Recommendation Software | Yelp Trust 
• Yelp Updates Recommendation Software to Better Target and Mitigate Content from Online Review Exchange Groups 

 What we have gathered as reasoning for this is that Yelp prefers to highlight the most credible reviewers and reviews, using many factors included in the links above. They do state “the software also looks for things like unfairly biased reviews — such as reviews people may write about their competitors or businesses they’re affiliated with — which other local search platforms may fail to catch. We work hard to protect the integrity of the content on Yelp so consumers get authentic information and businesses are protected from those that might try to “game the system.” This gives us a little more of an idea about the criteria that go into the decision made.

After gathering the information above, we cannot forget about the many unique cases we have run into while working with our clients. We have seen many cases where Yelp places a review into a filter, despite having all of the details listed below. In other cases, we have seen reviews that have only one or two of the details listed, yet Yelp does not put them in the filter. Yelp seems to be transparent about its automated software, however, seeing examples like these firsthand would lead me to believe that this software still remains a mystery to not only users but also Yelp reps who can’t seem to answer questions about it. Although some of these factors remain a secret we believe that some of them include the following: 

1. Profile pictures on your account
2. More than 10 total reviews
3. Yelp Elite member badge
4. Quality & Quantity of the review content 
5. A high number of friends
6. Engagement with other reviews and profile pages (likes, comments, useful, cool, & funny buttons)
   

Become a Yelp Elite Member & Attend Events

A great way to keep your reviews out of the filter and take advantage of all Yelp has to offer is by becoming a member of Yelp’s Elite squad. This is a private club that not anyone can join, you must qualify! The perks of becoming a member of your community’s squad are that you get to attend Yelp Elite Events with local participating businesses that host them. It’s a way of being able to engage with different businesses in the community, meet new people, and also receive a badge on your profile that shows other members your credibility on the platform. In order to join, you must nominate yourself or be nominated by someone else on the platform. Yelp states the following: “What makes a great Yelp Elite Squad member? Thoughtful reviews, Awesome photos, Sending compliments, Up-voting reviews.” On the elite squad page you will find out who your local community manager is, which is the leader you can email if you have any additional questions regarding your status, and any other questions surrounding elite or community events. 

Attending Yelp events or hosting them as a business can really help your business page’s engagement. It brings awareness to your business from attending members sharing and posting about the event. You may think this would bring new positive reviews to your business listing page but be aware that Yelp frowns upon that, which is why they create a unique business event page for attending guests to leave their reviews on. We have seen businesses in the past work with Yelp to create an amazing event to gather new reviews for their business page, and then have Yelp in turn reach out to those reviewers asking them to delete their review and only add it to the event page. 

From Yelp: 

​​Official Yelp Events have a separate business listing on Yelp where guests can review and post photos of the event. We welcome honest feedback about our events, but it’s never mandatory to write a review of an event. Because Official Yelp Events do not represent a typical consumer experience, if you do choose to post reviews or photos of an Official Yelp Event, be sure to post them on the event’s business listing, and not the business listing of the businesses that hosted or participated in the event. 

It’s a really wonderful opportunity to become an elite member and attend the Yelp elite events that are offered in your community. However, you don’t have to be an elite member to attend events that are offered to the community, attending in general is a great way to show why you should be nominated to become an elite member of the community. You can find which events are happening in your area here: Events

Check-In Everywhere!

Businesses can work with their Yelp representative to host Check-In offers. This will help to generate more reviews that will stay out of the filter because showing Yelp that these patrons actually checked in will give Yelp a signal to leave the review live on the page. Businesses can create and post a Check-In Offer as a way for customers to receive rewards for their loyalty to the business. When customers check-in at a business that is offering these, they will receive an offer on their phone that they can redeem on that visit, or save for another time. For example, this could include a free dessert with any meal if you’re a restaurant owner or a discounted foot massage for a spa owner. 

Using Yelp’s app on your phone users can simply pull up their profile and click “check-in”, if the business is offering anything, it will pop right up on your screen. Even if the business isn’t participating in offers, it’s still a great way to keep track of where you went, and when, and reminds you to leave your corresponding review when you have time later on. It also shows Yelp that you were actually there as “proof” by leaving a little “check-in” note next to your review on that business page. Not to mention, this is another great signal to show Yelp to keep your review out of the filter on that page. 

There are many details that can be leveraged on Yelp that most people don’t realize, which is why it’s important to get familiar with the platform by reading up on every section of the support page. Yelp is always updating its algorithm and platform, so it’s crucial to stay involved whether you’re a business owner or not. If you have additional questions regarding Yelp or are just looking to see how many reviews you might need to improve your Yelp score, feel free to reach out to our reputation management team here at Go Fish, as well as access the GFD Yelp Improvement Calculator.

How To Use Yelp For Your Business is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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Maybe you’re looking for a new doctor or specialist, or maybe you already have a doctor you like. Regardless, the healthcare industry affects everyone in their life at some point. This is exactly why doing your own research and sharing your experience for others to see can be extremely helpful and informative. It’s also super important for businesses and medical professionals to stay on top of their online reputation by monitoring reviews.

Doing all this research can sound like a daunting task at first, but we’ve included some information on the top healthcare review sites below to make it easier. These answers are to help potential or past patients navigate review sites. Additionally, if you’re a medical professional, this may just give you some extra information to assist you while navigating these sites. Online reviews matter, as they help businesses provide better experiences for customers while gaining an edge on the competition. Here are the answers to some of the common questions regarding HealthGrades, RateMDs, and Vitals.

HealthGrades

Who can leave a review here? 

This review site is for customers to leave reviews for doctors and dentists. 

What is useful to me on this page? 

HealthGrades has many useful tools, including a location-based search bar, so that you can simply add the location you’re searching and it will show you professionals in only that area. You can also search for doctors, conditions, or procedures. They additionally offer appointment guides based on condition. 

Some other details this platform highlights are professional certifications, degrees and licenses, hospital relationships, how many other offices they have, insurance providers they work with, personal details, and their schedule. Of course, the main benefit of using HealthGrades is reading up on the reviews of a potential doctor, if you’re considering surgery, for example. Knowing what past customers have experienced with these professionals should hold great weight when determining who will fit your needs best.

How does the rating system work? 

HealthGrades offers a one-to-five rating system. After you’ve created your personal profile, you are able to leave a review. After you submit a review, you will then receive an automated email or text message from the platform. You then must follow the instructions within the email or text to confirm your review before it will be processed. After confirming your submission, the average star rating you left for the professional is immediately posted to their profile. Note that if you left comments within your review, it may take a little longer to show up on the profile page. 

Once your review is posted, you are not able to go back in and edit it. You may only delete it and then start the process over once again. It is also very easy to flag any review for removal for any reason. The site’s flagging options include “Inappropriate content,” “Privacy concerns,” and “Other,” which leaves it open for all reviewers to give their reasoning on why a review should be taken down. All other content guidelines and details are written on this page.

Should I manage my profile if I’m a doctor or dentist? 

Yes! You can claim your free profile by visiting this page. Not only is this profile great for expanding your personal reputation online, but you will also be able to engage with past customers and gain helpful feedback to improve your practices. The profile also allows you to add a headshot, awards, and certifications, as well as even create other profiles for colleagues in your practice.

RateMDs

Who can leave a review here? 

This reviews site is for customers to rate doctors.

What is useful to me on this page? 

This page offers many useful details about doctors, including location-based search, the gender of which you prefer, doctors that are accepting new patients, as well as other educational details. You can also access the hospital affiliations. Reading other patient reviews can help to make future decisions when choosing a professional to help you. This platform additionally offers the option to leave reviews for a doctor’s office staff and wait time. The detailed FAQ page can answer other questions you may have.

How does the rating system work?

The scoring system is from one to five stars. The Overall Quality rating is the average of the category ratings. To rate a doctor or a facility, you can search by name, city, or country with the “Find a Doctor” or “Find a Facility” search feature. If your doctor is not listed, you can add a doctor and rate them. If your doctor is already listed, just click their name to see their ratings and rate them (look for the “Rate This Doctor” button).

There are no real content guidelines on this platform. They state to only rate doctors for whom you have first-hand knowledge, and you can only review your doctor once. Rating them more than once may result in all your ratings being removed. All reviews are posted immediately; however, sometimes the web pages are cached for a couple of minutes, so you may need to wait a minute or two to see your rating show up. Also, the site’s automated spam filters will sometimes hide your comments until a human reviewer checks them, but the numerical ratings are still displayed immediately. 

You can also flag reviews by clicking the “Flag” icon next to any review. The reasons you can flag a review include but are not limited to, profanity, private information, spam, wrong provider, and other. You can also add any additional information, which gives you space to explain why you want a review removed. The flagged reviews are reviewed by staff at the platform.

Should I manage my profile if I’m a doctor? 

Yes, managing your profile is important. By claiming your profile here, you open the opportunity to improve your online presence, as well as gain valuable feedback from past patients. RateMD also takes paid advertisements from doctors, which can gain you more exposure.

Vitals

Who can leave a review here? 

This reviews site is for customers to leave reviews for doctors and dentists. 

What is useful to me on this page?

Finding a doctor or dentist by specialty, name, or condition is how you can search on this platform. This site also places a highlight on a doctor who consistently gets higher rankings with a badging system, which includes people’s choice and top 10 doctors. 

How does the rating system work?

The rating system here is a one-to-four star rating system. The reviewers here can include details like bedside manner, accurate diagnosis, and wait time. Some of these details differ from the other two platforms. The platform doesn’t edit any of the comments or rating selections of doctors or practices, but they do reserve the right to remove public postings and any comments which may be deemed offensive, malicious, inappropriate, sexually explicit in nature, or not made in good faith. In order to improve the patient experience, the platform now only displays moderated patient reviews that are submitted.

Should I manage my profile if I’m a doctor or dentist? 

Yes, you can claim your free profile through the steps on this page. There is a detail on this profile that will show whether or not a doctor is active, meaning the professional is actively licensed or not. Sometimes this can mean that the professional just simply isn’t verified with the practice they operate. This is just another reason that doctors should stay on top of their listings online, to be sure that all information is accurate and properly represented.

Final Thoughts

Doing the proper research for whatever your healthcare circumstance may be will be much easier knowing where to go and how to start your research first. Comparing the information you find from review site to review site should also give you more confidence about a professional and help you to make the best decision when it comes to your health.

For medical professionals looking to improve their online presence, check out our Online Reputation Management services at Go Fish Digital and explore our blog for more resources, such as When to Respond to Online Reviews (And How).

How to Navigate Healthcare Review Sites is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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The other weekend I had an awful experience at a restaurant, and it really made me realize firsthand why unhappy customers are so quick to react. Working in the industry of reputation and reviews, I took a breath amidst my frustration and thought about my next move.

I figured I should wait until taking my anger to the internet in the form of a review to see if I could get through to anyone at the restaurant. I first called the restaurant and left a message on their machine. Next, I sent them a detailed email. Then, I even used their Facebook chat feature to send a message. When no one got back to me through any format, I made the decision to leave a review.

After leaving a review on Yelp and Google about my negative experience, I finally received a call from the owner. He was apologetic, yet stated to me on the phone that he typically doesn’t really pay a lot of attention to his reviews online and maybe he should.

Since the owner did the right thing, I went back to Yelp and Google and updated my reviews and star ratings along with it. In my mind, it wasn’t worth leaving the first bad part of the experience online and then not updating the review, since my experience changed after speaking with the owner who handled the situation appropriately. 

Don’t Skip Reading (and Updating) Your Reviews Online

Most people read reviews online before purchasing an item or going to eat at a restaurant. In this field of reputation management, we see many of our clients who have done right by their customers after a negative review but still suffer the public consequences when the review isn’t updated.

Many customers never take the time to go back and update their initial review to reflect the current standing of their experience or how it ended. To that I’ll say: Business owners, don’t forget to read and follow up on your reviews — responding can turn an unhappy patron into a return customer. And to customers: If a business owner apologizes and tries to improve your experience with their business, help them out by updating your review.

Why Are Reviews Important?

At the end of the day, we are all responsible for the footprint we leave online. So why are reviews important? For customers, it’s important not to jump to conclusions and put everything out there before you’ve tried other routes first, like phone calls, emails, and chats. Being transparent up until the very end of an experience is knowledgeable for both parties. For businesses, there are so many different review platforms out there, so it’s important as a brand to stay up to date on each one and see what customers are saying about you and how you can improve their experience.

Tips for How to Improve Online Reviews

There are many helpful social listening tools out there that can help to keep up with any mention your business receives. Be responsive to angry customers and be knowledgeable about which review platforms you’re listed on. Read up on the content guidelines of each of those platforms as well.

Sometimes reviewers cross lines that are not tolerated on review websites, so you can flag those reviews for removal so they don’t impact the view other customers have of your business. 

The point is, reviews matter, whether you’re the writer or receiver. Be responsible with reviews so that good businesses can succeed and not be negatively impacted by one bad experience. If managing or improving your online reviews is something your business could use help with, check out our online reputation management services at Go Fish Digital.

Don’t Forget About Your Online Reviews: They’re Everywhere! is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

Looking at these app usage statistics, it’s clear that the average person probably has more downloads of random apps than they can keep up with. For me, dipping my toes in many unique subject areas is fun, but most of the time, I quickly lose interest and still have those random apps downloaded on my phone or bookmarked on my laptop. A few ways to help organize your online life are to answer these two questions to help create a more straightforward experience for yourself when using the internet.

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1. Which Three Topics Interest You Most?

The rule of threes doesn’t often apply to tech, but I find that sticking to it has kept my sanity in a better place. Get in touch with yourself. Depending on the specific topics that interest you, look into the platforms that make the most sense and make them your focus areas. 

A good example being that if you love home design, use Houzz to save ideas and contribute your content. If you love all things beauty, consider downloading the Sephora or Ulta app to keep up with the latest trends and products. Some other examples might include downloading Flipboard or even Twitter if you love reading from many different news sites or Pinterest if you’re a foodie who’s looking for a new recipe.

Another way to find what makes your top three is to simply take a step back and look at which apps you utilize most frequently. You can access this data in your settings on your phone. Once you have these down, you can ask yourself the second question.

2. What Is Your Objective?

It could simply be that you use Facebook to keep in touch with family members and like to sell old items on the marketplace. It could be that you want to make a difference in that community by having your voice heard or you want to educate yourself in a specific field. It doesn’t matter what the answer is here, as long as there is one! If there’s not a reason why you have something or do something, then it’s a waste of time and space. Now you’re ready to move forward. 

Next, take action!

If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve now looked through our phone/laptop and can identify those apps or bookmarks that don’t have a place in our lives anymore. Time to simplify! My example is deleting the MyFitness app I downloaded when I thought I would work out every day. It’s not my thing and does not make my top three areas of interest. 

Another actionable thing to do is go through your Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter accounts and unfollow those topics/pages that don’t coordinate with your lifestyle anymore. And of course, taking the leap to delete unused bookmarks, clear out your history, cached data, and cookies on your laptop will not only help your computer run faster, but help you better focus on the things that matter most to you without the old, irrelevant items still hanging around.

Taking the time to make these updates will save you both storage space and sanity. Change and growth are important factors in life. Tech organization is usually something that’s not thought of when it comes to growth. Most people in tech are so focused on optimizing their websites that we forget to stay fully optimized in our own lives. Put simply, say goodbye to being an online hoarder and take steps toward online organization to live better on — and off — the internet.

Start Application Organization & Stop Online Hoarding is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

We all know that Google loves a diverse mix of results to satisfy the searcher’s intent. We also know that there are many ranking factors that go into what is returned for certain searches and how Google orders its results. What comes into question is how online sentiment affects these decisions. For example, in 2010 the owner of an eyeglass company used bullying and actual threats as an online marketing tactic against customers who wanted to return his product. He and his company gained a lot of negative online chatter, which resulted in an increase in sales and increased exposure in related search rankings. 

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Because of this situation, Google implemented something that helped to demote these types of websites. What this owner was doing was problematic and potentially illegal, and it was clear that he needed to be stopped. But, even though what he did was wrong on so many levels, was it appropriate for Google to step in as the moral judge in this case? This was back in 2010 and a lot has changed, but when asked about this topic in 2020, Google wasn’t giving us any new details.  

On a smaller scale, say a company starts gaining negative reviews about one bad employee on platforms such as Google, Yelp, Consumer Affairs, Trustpilot, etc. Google states that this sentiment won’t drastically affect a website, but the negative reviews may stick with that company forever, even if the company lets the employee go and has a spotless record going forward. Should the company be worried about their search rankings? Additionally, what exactly does Google mean when it says sentiment won’t affect the outcome of search when, in some cases, it clearly does? 

While the answers to these questions are not fully clear, I do know that if Google does have a “moral motive,” then it is extra important to look your best online. You can start implementing the recommendations below, even if you have a bad online reputation to begin with. Here are some steps you can take to improve your online reputation and ensure it’s not having a detrimental effect on your business or your visibility in organic search:

1. Be Transparent – Every single company will run into a few bad apples, whether they’re employees or customers. So by being openly transparent about a certain incident that may have taken place, the public will appreciate the feeling of being “in the know” even if you’re opening up a new discussion about it
2. Increase Communication & Engagement – Being involved with your customers and employees will only help to show that you care about them. If people are tweeting about you, like their tweet! Small gestures go a long way.
3. Be Real – If someone is angry and leaves you a negative review somewhere, do not come back with a drafted, robotic response. Be authentic and put yourself in their shoes before reacting. Don’t forget that the way you respond is starting a brand new experience with them, which should serve to positively overshadow the first one.
4. Gain Trust – This is so important both technically and morally. Gaining trust signals with Google by optimizing your website structure and SEO is vital. If your site isn’t set up securely, this very well may be the reason for the lower rankings in a certain keyword search. It’s also just as important to gain the trust of your employees and customers because this will help to build your credibility online.
5. Do Something New and Great – This may sound a little basic but by doing something new, whether it be hosting a company picnic or donating to a charity, you’re creating chatter, fresh press, and a positive culture. This will increase your exposure, which will help boost your rankings.

Whether or not Google keeps track of everyone’s online sentiment with regard to reputation and ranking accordingly, it’s crucial that you stay up to date with the latest trends and try to do everything you can to protect your online reputation. With my above tips, you can help your search ranking stay positive, even if you have negative reviews. If you’re struggling with your online reputation, feel free to reach out to our online reputation management agency at Go Fish Digital. 

How Your Online Reputation Can Impact Organic Rankings is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

Chef Andrés isn’t the only one stepping up at this time. The international beauty brand, Sephora, is allowing operations to continue with free shipping until April 3rd, and National Grid, a company operating in the energy industry, is giving $500,000 to families affected by the crisis. I was thrilled to hear all of this – finally some positive news amidst the craziness!

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My first thought after reading about these initiatives was to be incredibly appreciative of these brands for doing so much good for their customers, but I also couldn’t help but think that from an ORM perspective, this is a “win-win” situation for them. These actions will leave a long-lasting positive impression on the reputation and search results of those who are making that difference. They are also building trust with their audience and prospective customers, which will make them the brand people will want to turn to during the next big crisis, and even when things are normal.

If your company isn’t in the position to give as much as others, that’s okay. You can still help your customers during this time by giving them frequent online updates about any business changes, including hours of operation, plans for reopening, and other key information. Your customers rely on your business for its services, so when times are uncertain, your updates can be a huge source of relief for them. Additionally, your updates can help build deeper relationships with your audience and contribute to a positive online reputation for your company.

Here are a few helpful steps any brand can take in order to stay connected with its online audience. In each step, there are a few links highlighting organizations that are successfully taking advantage of their platforms online.

1. First, gather any crucial information you want to share with the public. Then, either add that information to the homepage of your website and/or write it all down in a blog post that can be featured on your homepage and social profiles. When an individual searches an organization, most of the time, the first result is the company website and that’s where the majority of searchers will look first for any important information.
   Examples: Clorox & Georgia Aquarium
2. Address your followers on all social media accounts, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Pinterest, since this is the best way to keep in touch with your audience with quick updates. Consider creating infographics that are easy to read and share so that your audience can retweet any useful information to others in an efficient way. Additionally, listen to the questions your followers are asking and address them to the best of your ability.
   Examples: Fast Company & World Health Organization Pinterest
3. Update any hours of service and important information on all review websites in order to keep followers informed. Yelp, Google My Business, and TripAdvisor are all examples of popular, convenient, and reliable platforms that customers frequently use to find out additional information about companies and organizations.
   Statements: Yelp & Tripadvisor
4. Consider posting a press release. This is another great way to communicate relevant information to a bigger audience and has the potential to show up in the search results for your brand.
   Examples: Comcast & PVH Corp.

Although these points may seem pretty straightforward, whether you’re a small business, big brand, individual or any other organization, implementing at least some of them might make all the difference during a time of crisis. Our Online Reputation Management agency welcomes all questions and comments at this time and always. Feel free to leave us one below!

Keeping Up Your Online Reputation in Times of Crisis is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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So, when I sit on my couch, wine in hand, ready to watch the show, I often think to myself how much the ridiculous things these men do and say affect their online reputation. I opted to break down the search results of some of the most controversial men in the history of The Bachelor to give them a few recommendations on how to optimize their online personas. 

One of the first steps in assessing a client’s online reputation is taking a look at the URLs we see ranking on page one for their name and assigning a positive, neutral, or negative sentiment label to each. For example, someone’s Instagram profile would be considered a positive URL in their rankings because they have full control over what’s posted there. A USWeekly news story, on the other hand, might be considered a negative URL if it doesn’t highlight them in the best light. 

After labeling each URL, we then calculate the overall sentiment score based on the specific label and the position we see it ranking in. The score is calculated using a 100-point algorithm that deducts points for every negative or neutral search listing on page one, which my colleague, Brian Patterson explains best here. Assigning the sentiments and calculating the score helps us see the client’s positive areas for promotion and negative areas that need to be improved or moved off of page one. 

Now let’s get down to business with these bachelors!

Nick Viall

Nick has been a part of The Bachelor franchise for what seems like forever. He was one of the Bachelors, a contestant on 3 different seasons of The Bachelorette, and even participated on Bachelor in Paradise. Throughout his time on and off each show, Nick has certainly created a questionable reputation for himself by being pretty outspoken about other contestants. 

When looking at his rankings, which can be found below, I can see several areas that could be improved. The first objective would be to clear that recent negative USMagazine story off of page one. Nick commented on the current season of The Bachelorette and how one contestant may or may not be in a relationship with someone else. Since this topic is relevant right now, we’re seeing it rank in position four of his results. It probably won’t be long until Nick inevitably says something else that creates buzz around a new, even more relevant topic, which I’m sure we will see contribute to a change in these results. 

1. Instagram Profile – positive
2. Twitter Profile – positive
3. Wikipedia Page – positive
   1. People ask section
4. UsMagazine – Nick Viall Mocks Bachelorette’s Jed Over ‘All His Girlfriends’ – negative
5. Eonline – Nick Viall Gets Candid About Finding Closure With Kaitlyn Bristowe… – neutral
6. People – Nick Viall Says He Found Closure with Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe… – neutral
7. People – Nick Viall – positive
8. Bachelor-nation – positive
   1. Videos carousel 

Sentiment Score: 83

My Recommendations:

• He should continue to leverage his YouTube page by keeping it relevant and even addressing controversial topics there. He should also update the ‘About’ section by adding more details about himself, as well as adding his other social profile links (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) so people will know where to connect with him.
• Nick should create a blog with his name in the URL, something like NickViall.com. This will allow him to take up real estate on his page one search results. It’s very important to own the domains that should be rightfully yours before some angry user leverages it first.

Juan Pablo Galavis

Juan Pablo, commonly known as the worst bachelor ever, has plenty of reputation issues. He had the worst attitude I’ve ever seen from any bachelor and he made a mockery out of the entire process. He even disrespected Chris Harrison! Throughout Juan Pablo’s season, he never fully committed to any of the women and when he did give his final rose to Nikki Ferrell, he made it very clear he had no plans to propose to her. I think it’s safe to say his search results reflect the bad reputation he has made for himself.

1. Wikipedia – positive
2. Instagram Profile – positive
3. TheCut – Juan Pablo is the Worst Bachelor in History – negative
4. Bustle – What’s Juan Pablo Glavis Doing in 2018? The Former Bachelor… – neutral
5. Bachelor-nation.fandom – neutral
   1. People also ask
   2. Videos Carousel
6. Vanityfair – Juan Pablo Is Delighted That Arie Was an Even Worse Bachelor Than… – neutral
7. UsMagazine – Juan Pablo Galavis Trying to ‘Trick’ Wife Into Getting Pregnant – negative
8. Facebook Profile – positive
9. IMDB – positive

Sentiment Score: 72

My Recommendations: 

• Apologize. He should start by making a public apology to Chris Harrison for mocking the show, and to the women he hurt in the process. This would go a long way in gathering better press for his reputation, and it’s also the right thing to do.
• Juan lists himself as a “Sports & Music Consultant” on his Instagram and other social profiles. He should start by creating a personal blog and website that will help him with his career goals and steal a position on page one of his search results.

Chris Soules

This bachelor made his television debut on Andi Dorfman’s season of The Bachelorette in 2014. When Andi didn’t choose him as her final pick, he went on to become the bachelor himself the next year. The season was alright but Chris seemed to be a little confused with exactly what he wanted in a woman. He ended up choosing Whitney Bischoff, but BN (Bachelor Nation) knew this one wasn’t going to last. 

In 2017, Chris was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a fatal traffic accident in Iowa, and as you can see below, it only made his online presence that much more negative.

1. UsaToday – ‘Bachelor’ star Chris Soules gets sentencing for 2017 crash delayed – negative
2. UsaToday – ‘Bachelor’ star Chris Soules’ sentencing rescheduled for August – negative
3. Wikipedia – neutral
4. People – Chris Soules Agrees to Pay $2.5 Million After 2017 Fatal Car Crash… – negative
5. Instagram Profile – positive
6. Cosmopolitan – Bachelor Chris Soules Will be Charged for Fatal Tractor Crash – negative
7. LaTimes – ‘Bachelor’ Chris Soules’sentencing in fatal crash delayed pending… – negative
8. FoxNews – ‘Bachelor’ alum Chris Soules’ sentencing delayed in fatal crash | Fox… – negative
9. Chrissoules.com – positive

Sentiment Score: 16

My Recommendations:

• Chris should start engaging with his Twitter platform a little more because this is a profile that he can control and can use it to his advantage.
• He should also continue to make updates to his own website (which currently ranks in position 9), start a blog, and consider writing a piece about what happened after it’s all over.

Arie Luyendyk

Saying Arie is controversial is an understatement. When Arie was announced as the Bachelor in 2018, BN fans were shocked because he first appeared on The Bachelorette in 2012 on Emily Maynard’s season. Arie wasn’t the worst bachelor when his season started, but Bachelor Nation quickly turned on him when he dumped Becca Kufrin for the runner up, Lauren Burnham – all on national TV! 

Given all that, however, Arie has an incredibly high sentiment score. Arie’s search results were overwhelmingly positive due to the fact that he and Lauren recently got married and welcomed a baby girl into the world.

1. Instagram Profile – positive
   1. Top Stories
2. Wikipedia – positive
3. UsMagazine – The Bachelor’s Sean Lowe Says Arie Luyendyk Jr. ‘Has Done a 180’ – positive
4. UsMagazine – Arie Luyendyk Jr., Lauren Burnham’s Daughter Alessi’s Baby Album… – positive
   1. People also ask section
5. People – Lauren Burnham and Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s Daughter Named Alessi… – positive
6. People – Arie Luyendyk Fr. Claps Back at Criticism of Lauren’s Parenting… – neutral
7. EOnline – Arie Luyendyk Jr. Defends Lauren After She’s Mom-Shamed Over… – neutral
8. Twitter Profile – positive
9. CNN – ‘Bachelor’ alums Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham are new… – positive

Sentiment Score: 94.5

My Recommendations:

• Arie should put more effort into his owned profiles so they can be featured at the top of his search results, and simply tweeting a little more could help with this objective. 
• I would also tell Arie to create his own website and blog since people love seeing Arie and Lauren as new parents. They could even start one together and highlight their new life with their baby. It could go a long way in securing another position on his first page. 

If these bachelors want a quick way to clean up their search results, they should start with my small optimization recommendations. But, as we can see from the popularity surrounding The Bachelor, the public can’t get enough of love, marriage, and babies! So, if they want that little something extra to make sure their online reputation is in good standing, they should consider doing a combination of the three – it worked for Arie!

How Controversial Bachelor Contestants Could Improve Their Reputations is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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1. Do your own research

Search your keyword(s) and record what you see

Example

Let’s say my company is RPM Italian (one of my favorite Italian restaurants here in DC), and the search term I’m trying to watch is “RPM Italian”. After I search, I would start taking notes detailing what I see on pages one and two.

Page 1 Rankings:

1. Main RPM Website with sitelinks & knowledge panel on the right-hand side of the page
2. Yelp Review Profile
3. OpenTable Review Profile
   “people also ask” section
4. Washingtonian Article
5. Tripadvisor Review Profile
6. Washington Post Article
7. Exploretock URL

Page 2 Rankings:

8. ChicagoTribune URL
9. Facebook Profile
10. Twitter DC Profile
11. Twitter Chicago Profile
12. dc.eater URL
13. Grubhub
14. eonline URL
15. Indeed Profile
16. Zagat URL
17. ChooseChicago URL

2. Identify your asset domains and your problem domains

Using the notes you took above, identify your positive areas (any domains you like or would like to see ranking higher), and then identify your problem areas (any domains you dislike or would like to see ranking lower)

Example

On pages one and two for “RPM Italian” we can see many positive URLs including Yelp, Opentable, Washingtonian URL, Tripadvisor, Exploretock, ChicagoTribune, Facebook, Twitter Profiles, dc.eater URL, GrubHub, eonline URL, Indeed, Zagat, and the ChooseChicago URL

As far as the URLs I don’t want ranking, personally, I would only be wary of the Washington Post review article – “RPM Italian Review: If only it tasted as good as it looks – and feels …”

3. Breakdown your asset domains into categories & find out internally who will engage with them

As we identified above we see that there are many positive assets that can be engaged with. If we break those down into categories, we find review sites, third-party articles/directory websites, social media profiles, and other owned domains.

Just as we did with these asset domains, break down your team into categories too. For example, find out who on your team has personally had an experience with the company and have them leave a review on a review website. Then, find out who is more active on social media platforms including, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and line up tasks to have them share, like, and comment on these profiles. Additionally, have those members share the positive third-party URLs that are ranking below the problem area URL.

Example

Designate members of your team, that has had an experience at RPM, to write about it on one of the review sites. Find out which team members are active on social media and have them share one of the ‘third party’ URLs for their friends to engage with. Send team members to the restaurant to take photos and direct them to one of your reviews and/or social profiles to post about it.

Review sites: Yelp, OpenTable, TripAdvisor, GrubHub, Indeed
Owned Domain: RPM website
Social Profiles: Facebook, Twitter DC, Twitter Chicago
Other Third-Party Domains/Directories: Washingtonian article, exploretock, ChicagoTribune, dc.eater, eonline, Zagat, ChooseChicago

4. Don’t forget about other important areas and domains that aren’t ranking for your brand

Don’t forget about the other domains that you would like to see on pages one and two that you don’t see right now in your search results. For instance, if you don’t post to your Instagram page that often, make a note to engage with that page knowing that it has a high domain authority and could have good ranking potential for your brand.

My other point when I say ‘other important areas’ is to not forget about the sections on page one of your search results including the ‘people also ask’ and ‘knowledge panel’ sections. For example, you could leave a few positive Google reviews here (knowing Google cares more about the quantity of reviews over quality) and claim your knowledge panel, making sure all of the information there is up to date. You can also have your team give feedback to the ‘people also ask’ section.

Example

For RPM Italian, I immediately noticed that I’m not seeing their Instagram or their Glassdoor profile ranking at all. These are high DA sites that should not be forgotten about. When you’re listing out your domains into categories, don’t forget about those profiles you’re not seeing, because with some increased engagement to these pages, that could make a difference in helping the page move upward in your rankings as well as even capturing some new followers along the way.

5. Schedule it out

Setup internal tasks with due dates – adding incentives if you have to – via email or utilizing any project management tools that will take less than 5 minutes to do. These tasks may include sharing, commenting, reviewing, liking and subscribing to the URLs you identified in Step 1.

While user engagement is just one of the many signals Google looks for when it comes to ranking factors, we find that it is a very important step to take in order to improve your online reputation. These are very small, yet helpful tasks your team can be doing to help make that difference you want to see in your overall branded search.

5 Step Reputation Engagement Guide – with Examples is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.