Consumers of all ages and walks of life are turning to the internet first when they want to learn more about a business or product. Specifically, they’re checking out online reviews. Websites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Facebook, OpenTable, and Google Reviews are considered to be trusted consumer resources, where discerning buyers can get a feel for how different products and services stack up to each other.

We are often asked what SEO tools we use. Here is a partial list of third-party SEO tools we use at Reputation X.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a component of online reputation management (ORM). A good SEO strategy uses content, link building, negotiation, and other specific criteria to help push your website towards the top of search engine rankings. SEO tools make it easier. While every SEO expert has their favorite tools, here are ours. If you are looking for reputation monitoring tools, you can find them here. 

Every reputation management campaign includes a lot of brainstorming. We think about which websites to build, which web content to develop (text, video, social, graphics, images, etc.), which headlines to use for SEO and ORM purposes. This article will help you understand some of the best ways to brainstorm content for reputation management. 

A content suppression campaign works to reduce the visibility of negative articles that appear in search results. Many people ask how this type of reputation management campaign works. While there are quite a few factors that go into suppressing negative online content in search results, the existence of content that meets certain criteria, or lack thereof, makes all the difference. Here we discuss two scenarios and how to approach each.

There are many types of anchor text. When spotting "unnatural" anchors (and trying to avoid them), we strive for diversity. Put another way; we don't want a backlink profile that says "Acme Technologies" in every link because it isn't organic (natural). Instead, we want a fully organic and natural backlink profile.

Search engines don't always show brands in their best light. When potential clients and customers search online search engines serve up many different types of content - most of it out of your control. They may reveal blog posts from your competitors, show reviews from review sites like Yelp or Angie’s List, or even negative articles about the brand. The key is to identify and then optimize customer touch points your brand can control.

Market websites other than your own. Most marketers understand search engine optimization (SEO) to some extent. When marketers perform SEO, they usually only do it for their own website, or websites they control completely like product or service specific sites. It is important to do SEO to stay competitive, but it’s also important to promote pages that are positive about your brand even if you don’t control them.

An online reputation management (ORM) firm isn't a public relations firm. PR firms tend to be more relationship-based, whereas ORM firms tend to be more technical and content-oriented. The best online reputation agencies use PR firms as a go-between with publishers while they work their magic behind the scenes. ORM firms also tend to operate in stealth mode, often quietly supporting PR campaigns in the background.

Reputation management and public relations (PR) are often confused. Although the two share similarities and may be used in conjunction with one another, PR is more forward facing and visible to members of the public. Online reputation management (ORM) services often occur behind the scenes and are not as obvious to casual observers. Think of reputation agencies as the "man behind the curtain."

While reading the new book by Cyrus Farivar entitled Habeas Data we began to think about what an honest privacy policy might look like. Then things quickly got out of hand. Enjoy.

Step by step directions on how to remove your data from data aggregators like Radaris, Spokeo, MyLife, PeopleFinders and Intelius.