Search Engine Reputation Management: The New PR Essential SERM Strategies & Tactics that Can Save Your ASSets

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Generally speaking, your reputation is created and altered by what you do and what everyone, including you, says. Unfortunately, perceptions are not always based on fact, but on opinion, conjecture and rumors. Look no farther than Michael Brown, former head of FEMA, who was lambasted for the lack of government response to Hurricane Katrina. Arguably the administration fall guy, Michael Brown spent months repairing his damaged reputation through tireless interviews and appearances. OnScreen Technologies, a manufacturer of LED display systems, recently took a chance on Michael Brown and hired him to help sell its RediAlert portable signage product. An avalanche of press coverage and online buzz has since erupted, which RediAlert felt necessitated a search engine reputation management (SERM) program.

Today, there are millions of people surfing the Web for news and information about people, places and companies. If you “Google” yourself or your company today, do you like what you see? When I Google my own name or that of my company, the top 10 results include links to our blog, articles I’ve written, press coverage and conferences at which I’ve spoken. These favorable results are no accident…they are the results of a consistent search engine marketing effort including press release optimization, article syndication and related PR activities.