SEO, or search engine optimization, is well-known to most businesses as a way of increasing organic traffic through the influence on keyword rankings. In fact, according to a Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Terakeet, 81 percent of executives moderately-to-strongly agree that SEO will become an increasingly more important priority over the next 12 months. It is possible to use SEO for ranking multiple pages within a single website, using many keywords. The online reputation management method is used to get many different sites ranked for the same set of keywords. This is another perspective:

The objective of SEO is for a site to be ranked number one on Google in the most queries possible. ORM aims to dominate Google’s first page with getdandy.com brand-specific keywords. Consider this analogy: SEO is one mile long and an inch wide, but reputation management is only one inch.

There is more to the distinction between public relation and online reputation services. ORM and public relations are both aimed at the same goal, which is brand management. Both disciplines are different, but they use different techniques to get different results.

In order to redirect conversation towards negative topics, most public relations agencies create a trending and buzzworthy news cycle. By flooding the news media and social networks with viral content, it is possible to change public perception. While online reputation management seeks to provide a comprehensive and accurate story about an individual or brand by placing assets that are under their control on Google’s first page.

Unfavorable news stories about your brand may be incredibly sticky. Google does not have an ill-will against one individual or organization. Google’s algorithms are designed to deliver the most relevant and useful search results. This content is also relevant if an executive or brand are managing a crises.

You’ll see results for SpaceX and Tesla if, say, you Google Elon Musk. Elon Musk did not create these companies just because it was written in his biography. The reason there is so much online content that connects Elon Musk to SpaceX or Tesla, it’s the amount of information available.

Unfortunately, the topic density of a website can have a negative impact on reputability. Google may prioritize news articles about a toxic spill that was caused by a particular business when it searches the name of that firm. If the CEO’s decision caused the incident, then the search results for that individual would be affected.

To be fair, or to the contrary, links are now considered as the equivalent of a word-ofmouth recommendation. Google receives an important signal when reputable sites link to negative stories about your business. This will likely result in it appearing on your first search page, so that more people can see it. This will lead to more clicks as more people click on negative headlines. Google may interpret the clicks signals as popularity or relevance and push up the ranking.

Many people have misconceptions about online reputation management. It’s not negative search engine optimization, for example. And firms do not magically remove negative results. Hacking is illegal. ORM aims to create a balanced, accurate landscape for search. This is about increasing your chances of appearing on Google’s front page by controlling the more relevant content. Here are a few other misconceptions regarding digital reputation.