LookupPage Blog | Professional Web Presence and Visibility

The Difference between Crisis Management and Reputation Management

One of the most famous cases of crisis management occurred in 1982 when Johnson and Johnson were forced to recall its popular pain reliever – Tylenol. The reason they had to do so was that someone was tampering with bottles of Tylenol in the stores and inserting Cyanide into them, resulting in seven deaths within a short period. 

Johnson and Johnson in retrospect saved their brand by pulling the product off the shelves and informing the American people of what had transpired. The fact that they chose to lose 100 million dollars by destroying 30 million pills and avoid additional poisonings, established Johnson and Johnson as a company that cares about the well-being of their customers – a title the company enjoys even thirty years later. The Tylenol poisonings essentially introduced the temper proof packaging for food and drugs in the U.S..

Crisis management has changed quite a bit with the advancement of technology. Major companies used to depend on journalists and newspapers in order to remain in contact with their customers. Businesses both large and small are now using popular social networks such as Youtube and Twitter in order to reach their customers both in on a day-to-day basis and in cases of “brand emergency”. Earlier in the year, Domino’s Pizza used Twitter and Youtube to express their concern and answer the public’s questions as a response to disturbing videos former employees had made in a Dominos store in North Carolina.  

The practice of reputation management (both online and offline) is something that most companies engage in on a day-to-day basis as opposed to times of crisis. Large companies spend a considerable amount of time and money monitoring what the public thinks of their brand and they are ready to spend even more resources if they feel that positive public perception is the missing ingredient that could lead to additional revenue down the line.

In online reputation management, sheer presence can make quite a bit of difference. Owning your own domain name and establishing a strong Google CV is critical so that people who search for a business or a professional could actually find who they are looking for as opposed to someone with ill intentions that is looking to take advantage of a company name that he or she has nothing to do with.

Why we need to manage our online image and how LookupPage can help

We all work hard, day and night sometimes, to ensure the success of our businesses. We go way beyond the call of duty so as not to slip up and make any kind of regrettable mistake. And yet, there are countless examples of people exactly like this, who have managed to accumulate negative press now available for all to see online. No matter what the product or how good the business, all we really have to depend upon is our reputation.

So what is an online reputation and why is managing it so important?

Wikipedia.com defines reputation management as "the process of tracking an entity's actions and other entities' opinions about those actions; reporting on those actions and opinions; and reacting to that report creating a feedback loop....."

When such opinions are viewed on the internet, it is clear that the widest possible audience can be reached at the click of a button, and one's reputation can be irreversibly damaged in seconds. As the internet is the number one tool used worldwide: be it for information or transactional purposes, the user relies upon the top search engines for accurate and current data, usually depending on results shown on the first page.

It is therefore more important then ever before to manage your online image. Cyberspace is rife with negative bloggers among others and if their content is managed properly, defamatory comments can rise to the top of the search engine results thereby ruining their subject.

On a more optimistic note, LookupPage can help you improve your online image, or as we like to call it, your "Google CV". As we highlighted before, the most important factors in search engine optimization (SEO) is content and links. While you are in charge of the content, LookupPage is responsible for the links. Using our advanced SEO techniques developed by top professionals who know exactly which content to promote and how, you can benefit from first page ranking on all major search engines under domain names bought especially for you, pushing negative comments to lower pages. To start benefiting from our expertise, upgrade to our plan for professionals and follow these simple steps:

1. Sign into your account (or create a new one).
2. Click the "My Account" tab.
3. Click the "Upgrade / Renew your subscription" link.
4. Chose the "Pro" package and purchase.

We look forward to helping you manage your online image and reputation to ensure a safer and fully enriched online future.

Online Reputation Management - What Can You Do With a Negative Review?

In mid December Google was ready to pay $500 Million for the user review website Yelp.com. The site has been around since 2004 and it is based on user-generated content in the form of online reviews of different services such as restaurants and mechanics located across the US and the United Kingdom. Yelp is also a social network; it allows users to interact with one another.

Yelp along with TripAdvisor.com and Ripoff Report are just three (out of many) examples of sites that have become extremely successful because of how valuable dynamic content (i.e. the user reviews) have become. The fact that both services allow readers to follow and rank previous reviews of every commentator adds an additional element of credibility to each review. Search engines have noted this credibility as well, reviews of a hotel that were submitted to TripAdvisor often rank highly within the Google Resume of that hotel. 

Option 1 – Respond to the Negative Review

Now that it is easier to establish that specific users within these social network / review sites are somewhat “experienced” critics and do not have a specific vendetta against a specific establishment  we can discuss  the consequences of replying to a bad review online.

There is certainly an upside to monitoring what is being said about you online. Feedback of this kind should be taken into consideration, as customers do not always express their dissatisfaction with a product or a service immediately. The above mentioned review websites allow the business that is being reviewed to respond.  A general rule that we believe to be true is that most customers who feel that they have been wronged, are primarily looking to vent their anger.  

The fact that a business takes the time to respond to a negative review online is something that is looked upon favorably in the eyes of potential customers. Simply showing concern that a customer was dissatisfied is already a step in the right direction.

Reaching out to such a customer and apologizing could often mean the difference between a negative review online and a neural one. It is also important to remember that the same customer could always post a follow up comment to his or her review and state that he or she tried the service again and were satisfied.

Option 2 – Try to push down the ranking of the negative review

Search engines are in constant competition with each other for presenting the most up to date and relevant content on the web for every query.  Creating additional positive results for a business name could essentially burry a negative review of that business. Google has a history of preferring diverse and unique content.This means that creating a Youtube video, a profile on a social network and uploading a PowerPoint presentation to Slidshare all for a single business name, may reach better web visibility than creating three new results of the same kind. 

While it is imperative for a business to try to keep clients happy and be responsive to comments and reviews, unhappy customers or negative reviews are bound to emerge at some point. A mix of new and positive results along with positive reviews by clients who are happy with the service should be able to overcome negative results that may emerge.  

The Importance of Marketing Yourself Online While Job Searching

With the grim economical news coming from Dubai, the job market continues to be a difficult one. The latest collapse of what seemed to be a thriving economy would undoubtedly result in significant job loss, as corporate restructuring will go into affect.

Maintaining a strong Google CV is not only important for one’s online reputation but it can also be a helpful tool when applying for a new job. It has become considerably easier and faster for employees to “Google” someone than to pick up a phone and ask for recommendations.Professionals who maintain a positive business image online would have an easier time impressing prospective employers than people who do not have any web presence at all.

A recent survey by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com shows that researching of potential candidates on social networks by managers and human resource staff, has doubled in the past year alone. A social network such as LinkedIn or a guaranteed visibility online tool such as LookupPage can rank extremely well on search engines and provide an additional positive result when a job applicant is being searched online by an employer.

Creating a LookupPage that highlights the attributes of a candidate as well as provides links to online reports, pictures and recommendation letters can make the difference between being called back for an interview and being looked over. Another advantage of creating an online resume is that it can be accessed at any time of day and from just about anywhere. Finally, LookupPage Pro users receive a unique domain name as well as comprehensive user statistics about who has been searching for them online. This is without a doubt a great online tool for job seekers!

NBA Star to Control What His Ex Says About Him Online

Basketball superstar Dwight Howard is used to being in the spotlight for his athletic achievements on the basketball court. It seems that a messy break up with the mother of his 2 year old son has forced the Orlando Magic Center to pursue legal actions against her in a court of law. Howard has been locking heads with Royce Lynsay Reed over defamatory content published online by Reed in October 2009. Reed addressed Howard as a “dead beat dad” in her blog, Twitter account and on an ESPN interview.

The judge awarded Howard a permanent injunction that would stop the cyber bashing by Reed. She was banned from using his name, image or referring to him in any media including the web. This injunction was put to the test less than two weeks later when comments were made on a gossip website claiming Howard has not seen his son in two months and that the reason for the injunction is that he has something to hide. Howard claims Reed made the comments using an alias and is suing her for over $9 million in damages. 

A third and final installment of this battle conducted with the use of social media is from yet another lawsuit filed by Dwight Howard late last week. In this lawsuit against Reed, Howard is claiming she has not only defied the injunction by publishing photos of their son on Twitter but she has also endangered the kid’s well being because Howard is a well known and highly paid figure. Interesting enough, the amount of money Howard is seeking for this lawsuit is based on the amount of Twitter followers Reed has on the popular micro blog. Howard is seeking $500 per follower who was able to see the photo plus the cost of his legal team.  

Building a Brand Using Free Social Media Tools

Traditional online email accounts are getting less traffic than in previous years. The reason for that is simple, people are emailing their friends directly from their social networks so they do not need to enter Gmail as often as they used to. Social networks are becoming stronger and are no longer used by a specific age group. 

Although there is an argument among different search engines on what is the most searched word of 2009, we feel that the most explosive and important word for 2009 is Twitter. Apparently, we are not the only ones who think this way. Only recently, Google unveiled its real time search option that will incorporate status updates from popular social networks among other real time results.

If you need any further proof on how seriously Google is taking twitter accounts create a fictitious account on twitter and conduct a Google search for that name 48 hours later. Odds are that this none - existing person will rank on the first page of Google thanks to that twitter account. Because of the fact that social media profiles usually receive indexation by Google and other search engines, creating a brand using free social media tools is certainly achievable.

Facebook

companies such as Coca Cola, Pizza Hut and U.S based restaurant Chain  T.G.I Friday’s have achieved considerable success by creating a Facebook Fan page. This can be achieved on a smaller scale by getting your friends and clients to become fans of your service. 

A solid Facebook fan page needs to be able to provide information about the business and possibly provide an added value to the fans of the brand. The Pizza Hut fan page is currently offering a 20% discount on all orders made with the Pizza Hut iPhone application as well as other coupons. 

Twitter

As written above, Twitter is currently enjoying the respect of major search engines. Although getting a large following on twitter takes time and effort, it is certainly achievable. Ranking well on Google for a twitter account is certainly easier if the account is active and tweets on a regular basis. The CEO of Zappos , an online shoe retailer  is using Twitter in order to engage and be reachable by Zappos customers. By being readily available, he is strengthening the brand of his company as being attentive to what the customer wants    

LookupPage.com - while it is not a social network, creating a LookupPage for a business or a professional can have tremendous return on investment (ROI). LookupPage enjoys excellent indexation by Google and creating a profile can help you establish additional positive results that often rank extremely well and contribute greatly to one’s Google Resume.  For example, you can check out Oxford Car Service which created a LookupPage for their business and their LookupPage is ranking extremely high on organic search.