How Much Do Online Reputation Management Services Cost?

A breakdown of rates and services from five industry leaders in the online reputation management industry.

Article Highlights

  • The cost of online reputation management ranges based on several variables and the great breadth of details within each variable.
  • The best online reputation management company for you is going to be one that specializes in your business size, your particular reputation situation, and your reputation goals.
  • Cheap reputation management can offer temporary results – or no results at all – or worse results. 
  • Quality, legitimate reputation management requires investment in resource-heavy endeavors that can increase the cost but achieves better results, repair, development, and management. 

Your reputation could be about 63% of the value of your business. But before you invest, you probably want to get an idea of what you should budget for and what level of repair, development, and protection you can realistically expect. 

The price range is broad, to say the least. The reason is due to the number of variables involved and the broad spectrums of each one. 

Reputation management services companies range from mom-and-pop shops to global corporations. Reputation issues range from proactive protection to repair and recovery from severe damage. Goals range from achieving five stars on Google or Yelp to enhancing Wikipedia, to repairing negative sentiment online, or even increasing market share in a competitive industry. 

Services also vary greatly, depending on the quality of the firm. Those with more experience will offer more substantial, effective, and lasting services than pop-up companies. To give you a good idea of what you can expect to pay, we have gathered the pricing and service information from several popular online reputation management firms.

Article sections

What does online reputation management (ORM) include?

The reputation services included in your online reputation management plan can vary greatly from provider to provider. Cheap ORM providers can offer such low costs because they often use “spam” tactics that don’t require the same quality or level of resources. It’s automated. 

For example, a less experienced firm might flood Google with social media and profiles to suppress negative search results and dominate the front page (this used to work about ten years ago).

A more experienced, dependable firm will focus on legitimate tactics such as creating active, high-quality content resources with impeccable SEO. This is because Google has become too smart for spam techniques.

Generally speaking, a high-quality ORM service will include:

ORM

Do online reputation management services work?

Yes, when you use a credible reputation management company. Again, it depends on which firm you choose. A low-end online reputation management provider might bring you temporary results – or no results at all. On the other hand, a skilled reputation management team can even bring your business back from the brink of collapse. Reputation management works as long as you understand that it takes resources to execute successfully.

How much does reputation management cost? 

There are a lot of factors that will determine the final cost of your online reputation management services, including (among other factors):

  • the firm you choose
  • your ultimate goals
  • the current state of your reputation
  • your budget, the size of your company
  • the number of locations that require review management
  • other factors like language or whether detractors are active

Several different pricing and engagement models will determine what you’re paying for. Assuming you’re not going to risk the future of your business on a firm that cuts corners and uses black hat tactics that violate Google’s guidelines, a very rough estimate could range from $300 per month for a small company with no existing reputation issues to well over $50,000 per month for customized solutions that address all aspects of a reputation for a sizable company or a company with a complex reputation problem in several countries.

Breakdown of costs from several popular firms

ReputationManagement.com

ReputationManagement.com caters to global corporations and their CEOs and estimates their typical package price range between $30,000 and $80,000. According to their website, a typical contract with ReputationManagement.com will include SEO services, content services, strategy development, and reporting. 

Defamation Defenders 

This reputation management company offers personal reputation repair for executives and professionals and company services to small businesses. Defamation Defenders is one of the more affordable options available with prices falling between $500 and $3,000 per month, but they might not be a good fit for larger companies that require a higher volume of dedicated resources. 

Hartzer

Hartzer is not a reputation management services firm, but a consultant who specializes in organic SEO. While he states that prices cannot be clearly defined until an assessment is done, Hartzer has provided a pricing chart that starts with $500 per month to alter search results for a small or medium company and ends with $19,000 for deindexing a review. The actual amount charged is dependent on the complexity of the issue that needs to be fixed and the goals of the company.

OptimizeUp

While they are primarily a digital marketing service, Optimize Up offers online reputation management packages ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 per month that include the development of a positive online presence, brand marketing, and the removal of negative search results. Digital marketers employ many of the skills used in reputation management, like SEO, branding, content creation and promotion, etc.

Reputation X

Reputation X breaks down pricing into categories to make it easier for prospective clients to estimate the type of budget they will need to achieve their goals. Each service depends heavily on the current state of the reputation in question and the client’s ultimate goals.

Reputation repair has three monthly levels ranging from $4,000 to $10,000. Reputation branding and content removal services range from $3,000 to $15,000. For Wikipedia pages, the rates are $1,000 for monitoring, $3,000 for editing, and $5,000 for creation. Pricing for review management will depend on the number of locations you have. Under 10 locations will be $500 per month per location, ten to 100 locations will be $400 per month per location, and over 100 locations will be $225 per month per location. Plan customization is available and is typically used by larger brands that require a high level of resources.

You can find the most up-to-date pricing on the various services pages of the Reputation X site.

Reputation impact on business

Reputation Management Price List

To get a general idea of the cost of online reputation management, we compiled this list from the individual service prices listed on the above websites.

cost of reputation management

ORM budget allocation 

Insights into the budget allocation of other companies are limited. Based on our own model and what is available online from some firms, we estimate that 30% of reputation costs are allocated to campaign setup, 30% to research, and 40% to strategy development in the startup phase.

In the first month, 65% is dedicated to content planning, development, and promotion; 15% to web and schema development; and 20% to promotion. In the following months, 5% is devoted to strategy, 40% to content, 25% to development, and 30% to promotion. 

Legitimate, long-lasting results require appropriate investment. For high-quality results, each of these categories represents resource-heavy endeavors, which naturally increases the price for effective reputation repair, development, and management.

Reputation management costs FAQs

What is the best online reputation management company?

The best online reputation management company for you is going to be the one that specializes in your business size, your particular reputation situation, and your reputation goals.

A company that excels in building strong reputations for small businesses is not likely to be able to handle reputation repair for a global corporation, and a company that excels in handling reputation management for large corporations is likely to be too expensive for mom-and-pop stores. Find a service that targets your business size and contact them to find out what they can do to help you achieve the goals you have for your company.

How do reputation management companies work?

Online reputation management companies address the various aspects of your digital footprint that affect your reputation. These include your website, social media profiles, and self-published content, as well as the content that others post about your business, such as reviews, social media posts, and Wikipedia articles. ORM firms offer development for those who have little to no online presence, management for those with a good reputation, and repair for those who have suffered reputation damage. 

How much does BrandYourself cost? 

BrandYourself is a DIY reputation management tool that also offers some custom services. It is most effective for a person seeking personal branding at a basic level. The DIY tool is $99 per year. The Headstart Service, which helps you get started with a brand and action plan, is $800 upfront and $20/month after that. The Concierge Service is a “white glove” service that costs about $400 per month. 

Tags: Online Reputation Repair, Reputation Management, Reputation Management Cost.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Get in touch with our team and we’ll take the first steps toward making you look better online.

Talk with Us